Bears defensive line faced one challenge after another in 2020
8th in a series
The Bears found themselves behind the 8-ball on the defensive line this season when nose tackle Eddie Goldman elected to opt out of the season due to COVID-19 before they ever got to training camp.
Things got worse when another starter, Roy Robertson-Harris was lost for the season with a shoulder injury following the Titans game in week nine.
A week later against the Vikings, Akiem Hicks was forced out with a hamstring injury causing him to miss the Packers game two weeks later following the bye, and from which he never appeared to get back to 100 percent the rest of the season.
Positives: The season began with an ill-advised attempt to move Bilal Nichols inside to Goldman's spot on the nose, a position it quickly became obvious he is not best suited for.
But once Nichols was moved back out to the five-technique predominantly, he began making impact plays on a weekly basis. Nichols appears to have a very high ceiling at the five or inside in a 40 front as long as he's not consistently asked to absorb blocks and fill two gaps.
Nichols' emergence lessens concern about having to spend big in free agency to retain Robertson-Harris who is now unrestricted.
Brent Urban and Mario Edwards Jr. - Edwards Jr. was an extremely valuable in season pick up the Tuesday before the opener - provided excellent depth with both earning spots in the regular rotations at the five techniques and in sub packages.
John Jenkins was a "solid" replacement for Goldman once he was finally able to stay healthy the last third of the season.
Negatives: Hicks' hamstring clearly impacted his effectiveness, and at 31 after missing all but five games last year with a horrific elbow injury it is fair to be concerned whether or not he can return to his dominant 2018 form.
Hicks did make an impact at times but not as consistently as two seasons ago, and rarely after the hamstring.
In addition to Robertson-Harris Urban, Edwards Jr., Jenkins and Daniel McCullers are all free agents leaving the Bears with only Hicks, Goldman and Nichols under contract for 2021 and the Bears salary cap issues are well documented.
Edwards Jr. is clearly a talent but he comes with some off the field concerns as he will be suspended the first two games of '21 for violating PED policies and is also being investigated for alleged domestic violence issues.
Defining moments: No one play or game jump out here but clearly the Goldman opt out and Robertson-Harris injury were defining moments.
It was also clear the Bears were number one in the NFL in third down defense and in the Red Zone until Hicks injured his hamstring, and from that point on the Bears struggled in those two categories for the rest of the season as well as allowing 41 points to the Packers and 34 to the Lions in the two games immediately following the injury, easily the two highest totals of the season.
Contract status: In addition to the five UFA's - Robertson-Harris, Urban, Edwards, Jr., Jenkins and McCullers - Hicks and Goldman carry the fourth and 10th highest cap hits on a roster with serious cap issues.
Due to the dead money on Goldman's deal he would cost more against the cap to release than keep, but the Bears could experience a $10.5 million cap savings by cutting Hicks.
It seems far more likely however that Hicks gets a contract extension to create more cap space from his deal and while unlikely after he sat out the season they could consider redoing Goldman's deal to make it more cap friendly as well.
Hub's grade: B. As much as being without Goldman and the extended absences of Robertson-Harris and Hicks hurt, this group still played well together with almost everyone making big plays at times. Edwards Jr. was the second most consistent pass rusher after Khalil Mack.
Hub's plan: At 100 percent Hicks is one of the most dominant interior lineman in the game, he won't turn 32 until after midseason next year and '21 is the final year of his contract. The Bears should extend him by two years if possible clearing significant cap space that way and use that money to re-sign Urban and Edwards Jr. while also using at least one, maybe two day three draft choices in search of depth.
With Hicks, Goldman, Nichols, Urban and Edwards Jr., if they can keep them all healthy the Bears would have one of the better fronts in the league.
• Twitter: @Hub_Arkush