Enter former Chicago Bear and New Orleans Saint Akiem Hicks.
The 2018 Pro Bowler signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Bucs Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter.
While Hicks was drafted by the Saints in the third round of the 2012 draft, he’s carved out quite a career for himself as an interior lineman, giving veteran leadership to some young-but-talented Bears defenses and some solid production in the interior.
However, over the past few years, the injury bug has certainly bitten the 32-year-old, with Hicks only playing 29 games over the past three seasons, not even getting to 10 games in 2019 and 2021.
While Suh might not have been as productive or effective, he was certainly durable. The 35-year-old did not miss a single game over his three years in a Bucs uniform, and he certainly gave the locker room a great presence and toughness that has helped establish the Bucs as one of the premier rush defenses in the NFL year after year.
But, hey. Hicks is really good, and if he stays healthy the Bucs could have an even better rush defense than in previous years (which is certainly saying something).
All we can do is wait and see.
Follow @ctbrantley12 on Twitter and listen to him on the RBLR Bucs podcast.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2022.