Bears injury report: Bears rule out Akiem Hicks for Sunday’s season finale

Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks may have played his final game in navy and orange.

The Bears officially ruled Hicks out of Sunday’s season finale against Minnesota due to an ankle injury. Head coach Matt Nagy said it’s the same ankle injury that has been bothering Hicks since a Nov. 8 loss in Pittsburgh.

Hicks has returned to the field twice since then, against the Vikings on Dec. 20 and against the Giants on Sunday. Overall, he played in nine total games this season.

The 32-year-old veteran is set to become a free agent in March. He has spent the past six seasons in Chicago and been a meaningful voice in the locker room over that time. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, visited Halas Hall during training camp over the summer to try and work out an extension with the Bears, but no deal was ever struck.

Hicks spoke last month about how it was the “unfortunate reality” that this might be his last season with the Bears.

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“All good things come to an end,” Hicks said then.

“He did a lot of good things as far as affecting different offenses,” Nagy said Friday. “He creates a lot of double teams and I thought he did a good job of doing that his whole career here.”

Nagy announced Friday that Andy Dalton will start Sunday’s game with Justin Fields sidelined due to COVID-19.

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In addition to Hicks, the Bears have ruled three players as questionable for Sunday’s game: outside linebacker Robert Quinn (shoulder), defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (finger) and defensive back Duke Shelley (heel). All three were full participants in practice Friday.