Danny Trevathan's Future Uncertain After Going on IR

Danny Trevathan's future in Chicago looks cloudy at best after an elbow injury caused him to become the 10th Bears player to go on injured reserve.

The Bears had been holding out hope they could get Trevathan back in case the unlikely event happened, and they made the playoffs. He's been out since Nov. 10 against the Lions.

Defensive end Akiem Hicks sounds less certain this week he'll continue playing after a few days to think about it.

Hicks returned from injured reserve and fought through an elbow injury against Green Bay Sunday, but with nothing on the line now it seems pointless for him to risk making more trips to the injury tent. He had to go in there twice against the Packers due to his elbow.

Number of Players on IR

Vikings 3	Ravens 9	Lions 12	Cardinals 14
Bills 6	Chargers 9	Saints 12	Redskins 14
Packers 7	Bears 10	Patriots 12	Falcons 15
Rams 8	Chiefs 10	Colts 13	Broncos 15
Steelers 8	Raiders 11	Panthers 13	49ers 16
Titans 8	Bucs 11	Seahawks 13	Jets 18
Browns 8	Giants 11	Texans 13	Dolphins 18
Eagles 9	Bengals 11	Cowboys 14	Jaguars 18

"You would laugh to imagine some of the things that guys play through in this league," Hicks said. "There isn't a week that I can remember where my body felt 100 percent. It's kind of customary. You're used to playing through injury. When things are on the line, that sense is heightened and you play even harder through worse circumstances.

"But the way our season has gone and the things that we don't have in front of us, that changes perspective and we have to see what is the smartest move for the team going forward."

Hicks is not listed on the injury report for this week. If he was going to sit out the rest of the year, it seems logical to think the Bears might have already put him on IR again, especially after putting Trevathan there.

The only Bears on the injury report this week are wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion) and tackle Bobby Massie (ankle), who missed Wednesday's practice.

The smart move would seem to be shutting Hicks down and let him do more rehab in preparation for next season.

"There's no decisions made," Hicks said. "I'm brought here to play football, so when my number is called, that's what I do. What comes after that, we don't know. We'll see going forward."

The final decision is always some sort of collaborative effort between the player, the team and medical people.

"It's very much so my body, let's just say the Bears have it on lease," Hicks said. "So when it's time for me to play, that's what I'm going to do."

Coach Matt Nagy seemed on Monday had left open the chance Hicks would play, but called it something to be discussed.

"I will say this in regards to how he played (Sunday), he was unbelievable," Nagy said. "I thought he played lights out. Even all the stuff, fighting through the aggravations of the injury throughout the game, the way he played and the plays he made yesterday, that was fun. We missed that. That was fun to watch."

As for Trevathan, he has missed 18 games in his four seasons in Chicago. He had only one season completely healthy, and the Bears will have to decide whether they want to bring him back next year. He'll become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Nick Kwiatkoski is also a free agent after this season, and has replaced Trevathan in the lineup. His weakness in the past had been pass coverage but Nagy said this has improved greatly.

"I think we felt that early on with Kwit in training camp," Nagy said. "He came in in really good shape.

"You could see him flying around. You noticed it in preseason, training camp and then when he had that opportunity against the Vikings you felt it there against a team that runs the ball a lot."

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