Bear Necessities: Bilal Nichols is aiming high with lofty goals for 2021 season
2 min read
#NFLBeast #NFL #NFLTwitter #NFLUpdate #NFLNews #NFLUpdates #NFLBlogs
#Chicago #ChicagoBears #Bears #BearsWire
By: Alyssa Barbieri
This is our online morning newsletter, Bear Necessities. Subscribe to get the latest Bears news delivered to your mailbox every day.
Over the years, Bears general manager Ryan Pace has found some gems in the fifth-round of the NFL draft, including defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, who’s coming off a breakout year.
With Eddie Goldman opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, Nichols took advantage of his increased workload, where he split time at defensive end and nose tackle.
What resulted was a career year for Nichols, who tallied 40 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 7.0 tackles-for-loss and one interception in 16 starts, all of which were career highs.
Now, heading into the 2021 season, Nichols has his eyes set on some lofty goals.
“All-Pro and winning the Super Bowl,” Nichols said. “That’s just how I feel. That’s the type of standard I hold myself to each and every day. I’m just trying to get better and better and continue to reach that ultimate level. I feel like if I can reach that level, it’ll help our team tremendously. That’s all I’m focused on right now.”
Nichols is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he has a chance to earn a contract extension with the Bears if he keeps up his solid play.
While Nichols is focused on taking care of what he can control this season, it certainly hasn’t escaped his mind that he’s entering a contract year. But he’s just going to continue to let his play speak for itself.
“I would be lying to you if I said that I don’t think about it or that it’s something that’s easy not to think about because you’ve worked so hard your whole life to get up to this point. It’s just about staying focused. I feel like if you are thinking about things in the future, you are messing up for yourself in the present. I try not to get caught up in all that. My time is going to come. I put the work in and I’m going to continue to put the work in. So, I’m going to let the work speak for itself. The work has gotten me this far.”
