Bilal Nichols Confident He Can Be Bears "Nose Plug"

The challenge to Bilal Nichols is playing without nose tackle Eddie Goldman more than it is playing Goldman's position.

"As far as me playing nose, you know, I played nose a little bit last year and in my rookie year," Nichols said Monday at Bears training camp. "So for me, I'm used to it. It's not nothing I can't handle."

Nichols is one of the alternatives the Bears will use after Goldman opted out for the season, and teammate Akiem Hicks is no less confident the third-year defensive end from Delaware can handle the spot.

"Bilal Nichols is gonna step in and play the best football that he can," Hicks said Monday. "He showed promise through his first couple of years. So we look forward to him taking the next progression, the next step forward and, shoot, getting another position down."

Nichols is another example of defensive line coach Jay Rodgers cross-training his defensive linemen at all the positions to provide better depth.

"(Goldman is) gonna be missed, but I'm ready to step up," Nichols said. "I've trained hard. I'm ready for this opportunity. I'm ready to just showcase what I can do, and you know, just put my best foot forward."

Playing without their nose tackle might bring back some memories of last year for the defensive line because they had to play without Hicks. At least they have Hicks healthy to provide a strong interior pass rush and help in stopping the run.

Nichols is elated to be on a practice field with Hicks again after Hicks missed the equivalent of 12 games.

"Akiem, he's a big bro, so me being able to be back out there with him, it was a great feeling because last year we weren't really able to really be out there as much as we wanted with each other, just for the fact that we both dealt with our issues," Nichols said. "But now that we're back and we're strong and being back together, it just felt great."

Nichols also missed three with a broken hand but it's possible it affected his play beyond those three weeks. It no doubt contributed to diminished statistics.

"It was tough, it was different," Nichols said. "As a D-lineman, you know, everything you do revolves around your hands. For most of the year, I had a cast on. Even after I got the cast off, it still wasn't right—just having to build the strength back, deal with a lot of the things that come with that.

"But you know, I'm super excited coming back into season three fully healthy. Hand isn't an issue. So I'm excited, but it's definitely something that it helped me mature, on and off the field from a mental standpoint."

Whether it's more maturity or experience, or the extensive offseason virtual work they did studying the defense, the Bears feel their defense is starting off strong even with a key player missing.

"We're actually a lot farther along than I thought we would be," Nichols said. "Guys really locked in, paid attention to detail and the little things guys have been homed in on ever since we came here. So it's good to see that, guys taking everything serious, and everyone's just super locked in.

"It hasn't been as many mental mistakes as you think it would be since we haven't each other in such a long time, so that's just a credit to guys just being mentally sharp, being locked in and being in their playbooks."

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