Mitchell Schwartz knows a dominant and talented defensive lineman when he sees one. The nine-year NFL veteran spent his first four years in Cleveland playing for the Browns and the last five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, getting named a first-team All-Pro in 2018. He was released by the Chiefs in a cap-saving move this spring, although rumors have heated up suggesting he’ll head back to Kansas City, which he has said he’s open to.
Schwartz has spent this offseason rehabbing and recovering from back surgery he had in late February. Prior to 2020, the durable right tackle had started all 16 games every season for the last eight years, but he didn’t play last year after going down Week 6.
Currently without a team, Schwartz sent out a cryptic Tweet on June 19 that seemed to suggest he wouldn’t mind playing with current Chicago Bears defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, who has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason. When analyst Doug Farrar called Hicks “underrated,” Schwartz responded: “Not by us!”
What does it all mean? Let’s explore the possibilities.
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Possibility No. 1: Schwartz Wants to Play for Chicago
While there have certainly been rumors Chicago wants to free up some cap space of its own by releasing Hicks, the Bears haven’t done it yet. In fact, they have seemingly doubled down on him, at least publicly.
“He’s a big bully out there,” new Bears defensive line coach Chris Rumph said about Hicks in May. “He’s a guy out there that’s like a big brother out there, that once he’s on the field with you, you sort of feel protected because big brother has your back.”
Hicks played in 15 games last year, netting 49 tackles, (7.0 for loss) 3.5 sacks, 21 quarterback hits and a fumble recovery. He has been a core member of the defense for the last five years, and perhaps Schwartz was just simply noting he has never viewed Hicks has been underrated.
Or, perhaps Schwartz knows he would be an instant upgrade over both Germain Ifedi and Elijah Wilkinson, who are the Bears top two right tackles at the moment. The offensive line is one of the primary question marks for the Bears heading into the season, and Schwartz, who is one of the best free agents still available, could be sending out feelers where Chicago is concerned.
He could also be trying to recruit Hicks to Kansas City, where he has recently admitted he’d like to return.
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Possibility No. 2: Schwartz Wants Hicks to Come to K.C.
In an appearance on KCSP-AM in late April, Schwartz revealed he would be 100% open to returning to Kansas City despite being released by them at the end of the season.
“Yeah, I think so,” said Schwartz about whether he’d return to the Chiefs, per Chiefs Wire. “It comes down to dollars, and what I want to do guys are kinda on the street in August, there are a lot of older guys that are used to making a certain amount of money and their injury situation or age, usefulness or kind of declined a little bit they’re not ready to take that pay cut. I would obviously entertain coming back here if everything lined up healthwise and all the other sides of things.”
Still recovering from back surgery, Schwartz says he’ll be ready to go when the season begins this fall. He also said he’s leaning towards returning to the place where he can block for Patrick Mahomes:
Once I feel healthy, then I can evaluate. I will, for no reason, shut the door on the Chiefs; I’m sure we’ll talk at some point. It’s all hypothetical anyway. I think you keep all your doors open anyway, so I’m not gonna lock myself in one way or another. Guys don’t usually take the ‘hometown discount,’ but my situation is different. I’d definitely kinda lean towards the Chiefs. It’s hard without knowing the team on the money, all those kinds of variables, what the line looks like, potential play availability. We’ve got a pretty solid 8-10 guys on the line, so it’s not necessarily come on like you’re the starter. I’m coming off back surgery; I’m going to be 32, so that’s where it comes into play as well. It’s a hard question to answer with any sort of confidence because there are so many variables.
It sure sounds like Schwartz wants to continue on in Kansas City if possible. And while Schwartz’s Tweet was very likely a case of game recognizing game, the o-lineman could have also been trying to pique Hicks’ interest in playing for the Chiefs. Gotta love cryptic Tweets.
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Free Agent All-Pro’s Tweet About Akiem Hicks Suggests Potential Interest