Chicago Bears: 4 Players Ryan Pace could sell at trade deadline

Akiem Hicks is fantastic, but selling him now might be best

If the Chicago Bears are not wanting to be true contenders, they might as well move on from one of the best players on the defensive side of the ball. Moving on from Akiem Hicks would not be ideal, but he should net a solid return. I would hope that Hicks could return a third-round pick at a minimum. He might even garner a bigger return than that, to be honest.

Hicks is 30 years old and that will lower his value. However, the team trading for him would have another full year of control as his contract goes through 2021. Hicks is a beast and has proven to be one of the best defensive linemen in the league. The only for sure player I would put ahead of him is Aaron Donald. That is saying something.

The defense struggled without Hicks in 2019, but I think they could play well enough without him in 2020. Besides, remember that we are basing this on the idea that behind closed doors Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy know this team is not competing. The McCaskeys know this too and this is also why we have yet to hear any major trade rumors involving the Chicago Bears.