Akiem Hicks only played nine games in the last of his six outstanding seasons with the Chicago Bears, but when he was on the field he remained a difference-maker at the age of 32. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Bears’ defense was more effective against the run and the pass when Hicks was in the lineup. NGS notes that opposing running backs were hit an average of a half-yard sooner (0.9 to 1.4) and the pass rush had a significantly higher pressure rate from 2018 on with Hicks in the mix.
It’s understandable, then, that when the former Regina standout became a free agent last offseason and the Bears did not try to bring him back the Bucs had interest. Tampa Bay did not bring back Ndamukong Suh, himself headed into his age-35 season, for a fourth year, and thus had a spot for a veteran interior lineman to play next to young Pro Bowler Vita Vea. Tampa Bay did draft defensive lineman Logan Hall with the 33rd overall pick in April, but wanted a proven plugger to help keep their run defense among the league’s best, so they subsequently signed Hicks on June 1.
Just like Suh, who played in Tampa on three consecutive one-year deals, Hicks was only signed for the 2022 campaign, which means he’s due to hit free agency again on March 15 absent a new deal (technically, Hicks’s contract voided on February 20). Will he follow Suh’s pattern and re-up at least one more, assuming the Buccaneers have interest? Hicks’s season in Tampa was much like his last few in Chicago: hampered by injury but with clear burst of effectiveness when he was on the field. Whether the Bucs pursue a second year with the 12th-year veteran is complicated by the fact that five interior linemen from the Bucs’ 2022 roster are potential unrestricted free agents, including Will Gholston and Rakeem Nunez-Roches. The only two players under contract in that position group are Vea and Hall.
Overall, the Buccaneers have 22 pending unrestricted free agents from last year’s roster (not counting the retired Tom Brady), including eight defenders who logged at least 400 defensive snaps last year. Clearly, the Bucs have a lot to sort through between now and March 15, when the new league year begins and any of those 22 players who have not inked a new deal with the team become unrestricted free agents.
Roster turnover from season to season is a given in the NFL and it’s certain that the Bucs won’t be able to retain all of those potential free agents, but they will surely try to retain as much talent as…
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