New deal for Akiem Hicks in the works?

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Mikefive
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From this Chicago Tribune Brad Biggs article.
There was buzz about the possibility for an extension for Hicks at the outset of training camp and certainly part of that was the presence of the Miami-based Rosenhaus on campus at Olivet Nazarene University not once, but twice. Bourbonnais is a mighty long way from South Beach and Rosenhaus being there led to speculation he could be hammering out a deal for Hicks, who he added as a client over the summer. Reality is the vast majority of contracts don’t involve face-to-face sitdowns and it was surely an opportunity for Rosenhaus to be visible and potentially attract future clients. That being said, two sources said Hicks and Rosenhaus are aiming big right now. Why not? Hicks is coming off a season with 71 tackles (fourth on the defense) and seven sacks and is 27 years old (turns 28 in November) meaning he will be hitting free agency at the end of the season in the prime of his career. You don’t find players that profile like Hicks — listed at 6-foot-5, 332 pounds, with athletic ability — very often.

What’s aiming big these days? It would not be surprising if Rosenhaus was trying to piggyback off the deal he recently completed with the Titans for defensive tackle Jurrell Casey. That means $15 million per season. The player should always start high when seeking a new deal in order to maximize his earning potential and that would put Hicks in a range with the highest-paid defensive linemen in the NFL. Casey’s extension, which was completed at the start of training camp, actually averages $15.1 million per season. There are 11 defensive linemen with deals averaging $15 million or more. Besides Curry, the list includes Ndamukong Suh, Muhammad Wilkerson, Fletcher Cox, Olivier Vernon, J.J. Watt, Kawann Short, Marcell Dareus, Gerald McCoy, Jason Pierre-Paul and Calais Campbell.
Yes, you read that right... $15M/year for a non-Pro Bowl player. Zoinks, Scoob! :-o (Of course, that's just speculation.)

I think it's entirely possible that they do another re-sign deal. They have the cap room. And Hicks is a FA at the end of the year.
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UOK
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$15M is the beginning of negotiation. I think he'd do better to get less on paper but more guaranteed over, say, 5 years to stay with the Bears. But who the hell knows.
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G08
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I'm hoping he takes a little less so he can have some more guaranteed money tacked onto the $4 million he is making this season.
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Sign that dude up for AT LEAST 5 years and $50M. Maybe $23M guaranteed. He has proven to be a force at the line.
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He was REALLY fucking good against the Titans... dude is a monster.
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DaDitka
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I LOVE Hicks and IMO he's been arguably the best player on the Bears roster since he signed here.

But I've always been against giving big bodies on the defensive line big contracts and I'm not about to change my mind now.

Go back at look at EVERY defensive lineman's multi year deal signed in the last 6 - 7 years and what percentage of them turn out to be good or even 'fair'? .... I'd be very surprised if even 20% of them are viewed as even 'OK' heading into their third season.

Yes...I'm totally convinced that Hicks is the exception.....but deep down I also know that he' s far - far more likely to not be that exception.
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DaDitka wrote:I LOVE Hicks and IMO he's been arguably the best player on the Bears roster since he signed here.

But I've always been against giving big bodies on the defensive line big contracts and I'm not about to change my mind now.

Go back at look at EVERY defensive lineman's multi year deal signed in the last 6 - 7 years and what percentage of them turn out to be good or even 'fair'? .... I'd be very surprised if even 20% of them are viewed as even 'OK' heading into their third season.

Yes...I'm totally convinced that Hicks is the exception.....but deep down I also know that he' s far - far more likely to not be that exception.
I've already railed against giving even QBs top money so you can imagine what I think about doing so for a lineman. No defensive player can make 15mil worth of plays.

Now I like Hicks so if they use up a big chunk of this year's remaining cap space to lower the future average then I could get on board. Even then, where are we putting him? He's not top 5 in his position, is he top ten?
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wab
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Eh, I can't get worked up about the money because it really depends on how the contract is structured.
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We've had him cheap, and we should keep him dear. He's easily our best player, and at last that's not damnation with faint praise.

He would've been New England's best defender, too, if they'd kept him. But they couldn't, on account of winning all those games and Super Bowls. When we're in the same position, we can worry about the cost of extending our best players. But for now, Hicks is too important to our defense's identity and to the development of players like Leonard Floyd--too important to our present and our future--to let him go unless he really wants to.

Besides, what else are we going to spend the money on? Extending Kyle Fuller? Or, at this point, Kyle Long for a mint? Kevin White? Strategic reserves of Dr. Weaselman's Fancy-Boy Moustache Wax for George McCaskey?
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Mikefive
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karhu wrote:We've had him cheap, and we should keep him dear. He's easily our best player, and at last that's not damnation with faint praise.

He would've been New England's best defender, too, if they'd kept him. But they couldn't, on account of winning all those games and Super Bowls. When we're in the same position, we can worry about the cost of extending our best players. But for now, Hicks is too important to our defense's identity and to the development of players like Leonard Floyd--too important to our present and our future--to let him go unless he really wants to.

Besides, what else are we going to spend the money on? Extending Kyle Fuller? Or, at this point, Kyle Long for a mint? Kevin White? Strategic reserves of Dr. Weaselman's Fancy-Boy Moustache Wax for George McCaskey?
How about getting some quality WRs or CBs?
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Long is signed thru 2021. he is on the cheap this year. 2019 = $6.9 mil; 2020 = $8 mil and 2021 = $8.8 mil. This according to Sportrac.com

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/chicago-bear ... ong-12300/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With his health, I don't address anything new. He will be 32 in 2021.
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DaDitka
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wab wrote:Eh, I can't get worked up about the money because it really depends on how the contract is structured.
Totally agree.....look at all the 'rage' against Jay's huge deal and how he only ended up with the 54 mill that was guaranteed.

So yes...if they want to give Hicks a 200 million dollar deal with just .... 8 - 10 million guaranteed.....I have no problem making him the highest paid player in the league. ;)

Mind you....I relay = relay like him and feel he'd be about as safe a candidate for extension as any big man in the league.

I just feel that I shouldn't let my feelings for the player or the team influence the way I feel about guaranteeing money to 'Bigs' I'm certain they're have been and will be exceptions ....but I think you're betting against the house when you do it.

Totally a different sport/situation....but as a Cardinals fan, I love that Yadi is going to finish his career with the birds on the bat......but I also think it was a terribly irresponsible signing and think MO should fired for giving it to him.

Just tying to illustrate my position.....I really really like Hicks.....but.....I always side with 'the odds' when dealing with big money deals...especially in a capped sport.
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Mikefive wrote:How about getting some quality WRs or CBs?
Sure.

But.

We let the best WR of this year's FA crop walk. The next-best is a year older than Jeffery and has only been playing the position for a few years. And then there were assorted Britts and Maclins and Garçons and Deckers. None of them got a contract averaging $10M a year. Pay any two of those guys so much money that the proposed Hicks contract gets in the way, and you're overpaying.

AJ Bouye and Stephon Gilmore signed for what, $13M/year. We got a contender for next-best FA CB for about half that, albeit for just a year. And Marcus Cooper at ~$5.5M/year for the next three seasons.

I think you're arguing against Pace's strategy, not against the supposed limitations we'd face if we paid Hicks a market-value salary. We have almost $17M in cap room right this moment, with 91 guys on the roster; we have more than $37.5M worth of room next year. And those figures could go up by more than $10M if we cut Markus Wheaton and Lamarr Houston. They'd go down to $10M and $22.5M if we paid Hicks $15M/year on an evenly loaded contract.

And yeah, $15M is fair market value. Behind Mo Wilkerson, JJ Watt, and Jurell Casey; just in front of Cam Heyward, Corey Liuget, and Mike Daniels.
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Otis Day wrote:Long is signed thru 2021. he is on the cheap this year. 2019 = $6.9 mil; 2020 = $8 mil and 2021 = $8.8 mil. This according to Sportrac.com

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/chicago-bear ... ong-12300/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With his health, I don't address anything new. He will be 32 in 2021.
Yeah, I know, just using him as an illustration. Aside from Hicks, there isn't a single UFA that we really need to sign. Closest things are probably a couple of the one-year guys, Anakamura and Howard, but they've got their work cut out for them trying to prove that they're anywhere near as valuable as Hicks.
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The issue isn't with how much cap space we have now, it's about making sure we have enough when we're ready to contend. We don't have a #1 receiver, #1 CB, #1 edge rusher. Our running back is a rookie, our d-line are all cheap until Hicks gets paid. Even our waste of money placeholder QBs are relatively cheap.

Don't get me wrong, not wasting piles of cap space when we're not contending is a good thing but that $15m will go pretty quickly if we're to turn into a contender.
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