Cordarrelle Patterson reportedly set to join the Chicago Bears
Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is the latest free agent to leave the New England Patriots, committing instead to join the Chicago Bears.
Bill Belichick just lost one of his most versatile weapons from 2018. Matt Nagy (and more importantly, Mitchell Trubisky) just gained a whole new dynamic to their offense in 2019.
Cordarrelle Patterson will reportedly join the Chicago Bears when free agency officially begins tomorrow at 4 pm EST. The deal is supposedly for two years and $10 million, with $5 million fully-guaranteed.
It’s just the latest upswing in what has been a rollercoaster of a career for Patterson. Originally a first-round draft pick out of Tennessee back in 2013, the expectation was that Patterson would become – at worst – a two-way threat as a starting No.1 wide receiver and a kickoff specialist. At best, the hope was that Patterson could display shades of vintage Randy Moss as the new “man” in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, Patterson never emerged into anything more than a threat in the return game during his Vikings tenure. He eventually even lost his place on the wide receiver starting depth chart before finally getting exiled to the Oakland Raiders in 2017.
After one nondescript season in black-and-silver, Patterson joined the New England Patriots last year and immediately seemed rejuvenated. Playing with a quarterback of Tom Brady’s caliber, getting coached by brilliant minds like Belichick and Josh McDaniels, and perhaps most importantly, having a real opportunity for meaningful snaps with Julian Edelman suspended the first four games of the season, all combined to create one of Patterson’s best seasons in the NFL.
His five combined touchdowns were the most he’d had since his rookie season (three receiving, one rushing, one returning). His versatility as a gadget-type player was also highlighted during a brief stretch in the middle of the season when Belichick trotted him out as the starting running back for the offense, due to injuries to Sony Michel and Rex Burkhead.
Making the most of those opportunities, he actually finished with fairly impressive rushing stats – carrying the ball for 228 yards on 42 attempts, good enough for a lofty 5.4 yards per rush season average and a touchdown on the ground.
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Patterson will now seek to continue his career renaissance in the Windy City, where he joins an up-and-coming contender that could challenge for the Super Bowl next season. For the Patriots, the team will have to reload at a roster position that was already precariously thin even before Patterson’s departure to the Bears.