I was filled with angst and nerves when Cordarrelle Patterson missed time in Sunday’s win against the Vikings because of a knee issue. But one day later, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy calmed (some of) my nerves.
Exhale:
Coach Nagy says CP (knee) will be day-to-day headed into Week 16 vs. Jacksonville.
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 21, 2020
The good news is that it sounds as if Patterson avoided a serious knee injury that would put him out of action. And that Nagy seemed optimistic that Patterson can play against the Jaguars on Sunday was good to hear. But still … knee injuries for skill position players makes me angsty.
Perhaps we’ll see a scaled back role for Patterson, which cuts in several ways. We’re all familiar with his excellence as a kick returner, but let’s not overlook his other contributions. Patterson is an ace gunner on special teams. And when your defense needs to play a field position game, punt coverage becomes vital. On the offensive side of the ball, Patterson has 19 carries for 96 yards in his last four games. That’s a 5.1 yards per pop average. Maybe this means David Montgomery will get more of the load. That’s fine by me, but I like how Patterson has been used in recent weeks and would like to see it continue.
In any case, we’ll continue to monitor his situation as updates become available.