Although the meatiest part of free agency is over, there are still unsigned players of note out there, and unmet needs on the Chicago Bears’ roster.
Cordarrelle Patterson, who cut his teeth in the NFL as a receiver and kick returner for the Minnesota Vikings, met with the Bears on Saturday. Patterson would be an interesting fit for the Bears, especially considering their additions of Kendall Wright and Markus Wheaton. Patterson isn’t an accomplished receiver by any stretch, but has flashed elite return skills, which is something the Bears haven’t had consistently since the team parted ways with Devin Hester.
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The Bears were rumored to be in the mix of teams pursuing Patterson, but he has yet to find a home with a new team. In fact, it seems like Patterson would strongly prefer not to find a home with a new team, given the campaigning he’s been doing on social media to stay with the Vikings.
Elsewhere, as the Bears continue to revamp what was a lousy secondary in 2016, perhaps Darius Butler of the Indianapolis Colts could be in play. Jason La Canfora tweets that Butler visited the Bears on Saturday, making Halas Hall the first stop on his free agency tour. Butler, 30, was Pro Football Focus’ 20th ranked cornerback in 2016 with a career-best 82.6 grade, and has been graded as an above average or better player in four of his last five years.
Butler is looking to transition to safety, though, where he filled in with success last year for the Colts after they suffered various injuries. In fact, he was sufficiently successful that Butler ranked as PFR’s 4th best free agent safety, and 48th best free agent overall.
So far, the Bears have added free agent cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper, as well as safety Quintin Demps, but it’s hard to argue with adding substantial veteran depth to the secondary, especially a guy who could be as impactful as Butler.
Brett Taylor contributed to this post.
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