Only COVID-19 Holding Back Bears Defense at This Point
Neither Akiem Hicks nor Danny Trevathan finished the season on the field.
They'd be the first to lament the coronavirus and how it has prevented them getting out on the practice field this spring.
Hicks, it seems, has his own solution for coping.
"I'll say this: I have been quarantining for a really long time. I even made a drink. It's called a Quarantini."
The recipe?
"There's been a lot of variations," Hicks said. "What I will say is this: after I found out that, I read an article—and just like everybody else, you read an article on Twitter and every other form of media—they said that drinking alcohol could increase your chances of getting COVID.
"That kinda went down the drain at that point. But I will say this: tequila was involved."
While the talk of the NFL has been George Floyd's death and the Colin Kaepernick debate, both Hicks and Trevathan know the real obstacle to playing football again at this point is not the unrest going on but is the coronavirus.
"It's scary to think that most of my job is physical contact with other players," Hicks said. "And so, boy, I don't know. I don't know. I want to be safe and I'm sure they're going to do their best to make sure we're in the best possible situation in order to be able to play this game and do it. Right? But it's scary. That's how I feel."
Both Hicks and Trevathan suffered elbow injuries. Those are of little concern compared to the coronavirus.
"You know I might go to camp and somebody might have that and I might not be able to play no more," Trevathan pointed out.
Trevathan's elbow injury was a midseason season-ender, and Hicks' would have been if not for the the fact it occurred in Game 5. He bounced back one game against the Packers, then back on the shelf.
"I'm excited," Hicks said. "I'm ready to play football again. This has been a ... it's been a long time. Remember, I didn't really get to play this (last) season right? So my season kind of it wrapped up in October and then I had one last hurrah right there in December."
Hicks wouldn't mind the chance to knock someone over.
"I played four games," he said. "I miss football. So I'm ready. My body is doing as good as it can. But man, being back on that field will probably make it feel a whole lot better."
Both Trevathan and Hicks expressed excitement over the opportunities to play alongside new defenders, especially pass rusher Robert Quinn.
"We're going to be monsters. There’s no doubt in my mind"
-Danny Trevathan
"We're going to be monsters," Trevathan said. "There’s no doubt in my mind. I watched Quinn from afar. I know he's been going for a while. He knows what he's doing. He's a wrecking machine."
Opponents will have to cover all bases and double-teaming should be limited up front.
"Now you've got to watch this side here, this side over here," Trevathan said. "You've got to watch the middle. You've got to watch the back end. Front seven.
"Dangerous."
Normally the Bears would be holding their organized team activities now and then June 22-24 they will hold minicamp. Everything is on hold at the moment and they're only learning the scheme over the internet
"I feel like right now is the time where we create that communication between one another," Trevathan said. "We're kind of the first people in the history of football to have to deal with a (COVID) situation like this.
"We've got to hold it down on our part. That's why I feel like keeping in contact with one another is going to be a deciding factor between which team comes out of this victorious and on top. And I feel like we have the people on this team and this defense to be one of the ones who stand out and ones who come out of this positively. I feel like all we have to do is take one day at a time, push one another, call one another out, have each other’s back. And let's roll out."
Maybe it will happen—after a few more Quarantinis.
