The Chicago Bears placed Pro Bowl defensive tackle Akiem Hicks on injured reserve Tuesday, ruling him out for at least eight weeks.
Hicks hurt his left elbow during the team’s Week 5 loss to the Oakland Raiders in London, with the joint appearing to be dislocated. NFL Network reported Tuesday he had been soliciting opinions the last two weeks.
While head coach Matt Nagy would not confirm the specific injury on Monday, he did say Hicks would be out for some time but perhaps not the rest of the season.
Hicks could be recalled from injured reserve after eight weeks, but he cannot play until Week 15 at the Green Bay Packers, at the earliest. He would be allowed to resume practicing two weeks earlier if deemed healthy enough.
Hicks, who turns 30 in November, is coming off of his first Pro Bowl campaign, in which he had 7.5 sacks, 16 QB hits, 12 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and five batted passes. He has one sack and three QB hits this season, having left two games early due to injury.
Before sitting out Week 4 with a knee issue, Hicks had not missed a game since 2014.
In corresponding moves, the Bears promoted undrafted rookie offensive lineman Alex Bars from the practice squad and signed linebacker Fadol Brown to the practice squad.
Bars, a Notre Dame product, turned down an opportunity to join the New England Patriots’ active roster last week, getting a raise from the Bears to stay on their practice squad.