I Think That I Think Letting Cordarrelle Patterson Walk is a Mistake and Other Bears Bullets

Carlos Rodón’s journey from first-round pick and hot-shot prospect to being on the outside looking in to a rotation spot to being a literal foot away from a perfect game is a wild one. So if he can do THAT, then the Bears can unearth a franchise quarterback. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…

•   One of my favorite bits in writing is when Peter King shares things he “thinks.” When I read those bits, my mind goes back to a simpler time. In the wake of Cordarrelle Patterson’s pending move to Atlanta, I found myself in a PK state of mind. I think that letting Cordarrelle Patterson walk is a mistake. Or is it that I’m thinking about thinking how it’s a mistake. It’s possible I’m in my own head here. To be clear, that wouldn’t be a first for me. HOWEVER, I can’t shake this feeling. So here I am, discussing it here with you.

•   Cordarrelle Patterson was a valuable member of the Bears for the last two seasons. He was an All-Pro contributor on special teams as a kick returner on coverage teams. There were times he was dabbling in offense, too. On top of that, Patterson was a popular member of the locker room and his online presence was good for fan morale. I don’t want to overrate a two-year stay or overvalue the contributions of a special teams player. However, football is a three-phase game. And if one phase takes a hit, the other two must pick up the slack. As things currently stand, I don’t believe the Bears are in a position to properly deal with that hit. And I don’t Patterson’s looming departure is inconsequential.

•   By failing to trade for Russell Wilson, the Bears have yet to upgrade the quarterback position. And by bringing in Andy Dalton, the Bears look like a team built on defensive excellence and ball control. In order to win in this fashion, your team needs to win the field position battle. Without Patterson, winning that aspect of the game will be difficult. Not impossible, mind you. But harder now than it was at this time last year. Simply put, the more your teams spend on not-offense, the more important it is to be great everywhere else. We already are under the assumption the Bears defense will take a step back from elite status after losing Kyle Fuller because of shoddy cap management. But the threat of losing the field position game on top of that leaves me feeling itchy.

•   I’ll admit it’s possible that much of this feeling is rooted in the Bears having valued return aces for as long as I can remember. But we all saw how bad things looked for that unit in 2018. I’d prefer not to re-visit those days.

•   I suppose the Bears could find better use of the cash that could have gone to Patterson. But I’m unsure if they’ll find someone who provides the same positive impact. And I doubt they’ll find someone who can play multiple roles. Perhaps that cash could be spread out into offensive line depth? Maybe a shot-in-the-dark flier on a post-hype sleeper? Building up the bottom half of the 90-man roster wouldn’t be the worst thing a Bears team could do after failing in the depth department last year.

•   As of now, here are the Bears on the active roster who have extensive experience in the return game: Tarik Cohen, Anthony Miller, Eddie Jackson. Ourlads lists Darnell Mooney as an option on the depth chart, but Mooney has a grand total of two returns to his name as a collegiate player and none in the pros. So … I’m gonna say that’s a “no” for now.

•   It was a relief to see Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy spotted at Justin Fields’ second Pro Day workout. When The MMQB’s Albert Breer tweeted an early list of team representatives on site and didn’t list the Bears, there was a vocal segment of an upset fandom ready to rage. That the Bears were there didn’t really shake those angsty feelings. And I’m not sure anything will, that is, unless they find a way to draft one of the top-5 quarterbacks in this class.

•   Yes. And with no hesitation:

Is Devin Hester a Hall of Famer?

▻ 16 Receiving TD
▻ 14 Punt return TD (most ever)
▻ 5 Kickoff return TD
▻ HOF All-2000s AND All-2010s team
▻ 3X All-Pro
▻ 4X Pro Bowler

It sure feels like the answer is YES pic.twitter.com/R3yC5wYK38

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) April 15, 2021

•   Not enough swings at the most important position:

With how terrible the QB position has been in Chicago you'd think they'd put a premium on trying to find a good one.

Since they took Jim McMahon in the 1st round in 1982 the Bears have selected just four first-round quarterbacks.

— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) April 15, 2021

•   If GM Ryan Pace wasn’t so gung-ho on trading late-round picks, maybe he would have more Eddie Jacksons on his squad:

https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1382348109456506885

•   LOL Regg…

Reggie Miller Says He Would’ve Told Michael Jordan to “Go F— Himself” if He Asked to Team Up – https://t.co/hnly6ecZHy pic.twitter.com/zIfExwWlT5

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 15, 2021

•   Today is Jackie Robinson Day in MLB, so it’s cool to see this:

David Price, Jason Heyward & Jackie Bradley Jr. are among 100+ MLB players who have pledged to donate all or part of their game-day salaries to the Players Alliance on Jackie Robinson Day in MLB, per the nonprofit’s announcement. They say they raised $1M+ doing this last year.

— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) April 14, 2021