Bilal Nichols (born September 14, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive tackle for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the Bears in the fifth round of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first dra ...

. He played college football at

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

College career

He had 56 tackles including 6.5 for loss, 5.5 sacks, an interception, four pass break-ups, and a blocked kick in 2017. He was named first-team All-

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...

for his season.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Nichols was drafted by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

in the fifth round (145th overall) of the

. Like Nichols, Bears head coach

Matt Nagy Matthew Nagy ( or ; born April 24, 1978) is an American football coach, and former arena football quarterback, who is the senior assistant and quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head ...

was a Delaware alumnus, while assistant Brian Ginn worked for the school before joining the Bears. His first NFL start came in Week 10 of the 2018 season against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

, where he recorded his first full sack on quarterback

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...

in a 34–22 win. A second sack came in the season finale on the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...

as the Bears won 24–10. Nichols' 2019 season was marred by a broken hand that he suffered in Week 2 against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. Upon his return, he primarily filled in for the injured

Akiem Hicks Akiem Jamar Hicks (born November 16, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft and has also ...

at tackle. In the final game of the year against Minnesota, he recovered a fumble by

Mike Boone Mike Boone (born June 30, 1995) is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in ...

on the Vikings' opening drive. After nose tackle Eddie Goldman opted out of the 2020 season for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

reasons, Nichols took over his slot. In the Bears' Week 6 game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, Nichols sacked

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern Senior Hi ...

at the Panthers' one-yard line; on the ensuing play, Bridgewater was intercepted by

Tashaun Gipson Tashaun Gipson (born August 7, 1990) is an American football free safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wyoming, and signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent ...

to set up a Bears touchdown. In Week 13 against the

, Nichols recorded a sack on

and his first career interception off a pass thrown by Stafford that he returned for seven yards during the 34–30 loss. Nichols was the first Bears defensive tackle to intercept a pass since

Tommie Harris Tommie Harris, Jr. (born April 29, 1983) is a former American football defensive tackle who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Oklahoma, and was recognized as a consens ...

in 2009.

Las Vegas Raiders

Nichols signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the

on March 17, 2022.

References

External links

Chicago Bears bioDelaware Fightin' Blue Hens bio
1996 births Living people American football defensive tackles Chicago Bears players Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players People from Newark, Delaware Players of American football from Delaware Sportspeople from the Delaware Valley Las Vegas Raiders players {{defensive-lineman-1990s-stub