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The 2022 NFL preseason is only a few days old, but the Chicago Bears still can’t seem to catch a break.
The Chicago medical staff carted starting center Lucas Patrick off the practice field on Thursday, July 28, just days into the start of Bears training camp, per Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic.
The details of the injury were not specified beyond confirmation that Patrick’s right hand is the area of concern. However, Field Yates of ESPN broke some disconcerting news on the nature of Patrick’s health issue Friday.
“Bears head coach Matt Eberflus announced that starting [center] Lucas Patrick suffered a right hand injury early in training camp and there is no timetable for his return,” Yates tweeted.
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Bears’ New GM Ryan Poles High on Patrick After Stint With Packers
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GettyCenter Lucas Patrick, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, waits for a play to begin during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field on December 6, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The loss of Patrick is big news for the Bears, even bigger considering how high Chicago’s new general manager Ryan Poles is on the offensive lineman — a man after his own heart.
The franchise signed Patrick to a two-year contract worth $8 million, included a $2,965,000 signing bonus and $4 million guaranteed to anchor the offensive line at the center position.
“I do see him as a center,” Poles said back in March, via the Bears’ team website. “He has an ability to play guard, but I think the best position is center. Always when you’ve got guys that can be flexible, you might have to address some things. But that’s where he’ll start out and we’ll see how it goes.”
Chicago had the NFL’s worst offensive line last year in terms of pass protection, allowing 58 quarterback sacks across 17 regular season games, per StatMuse. Poles noted that Patrick was brought in to combat that deficiency and bring a specific, and necessary, attitude to the Bears’ offensive front.
The things [Patrick] was screaming on the phone after we got a deal done kind of showed what he’s all about. He embodies that. He’s a prick, and he knows it, and that’s how he survives, and that’s what we need up front.
Just doing it myself [as a former player], that’s contagious. Other people either have got to go with it or you just don’t fit in. That’s going to improve the rest of the group, and we’re going to keep adding guys like that.
It’ll be big because instead of that gap trying to figure out what he needs to do, he should have a really good foundation of that, and then that time can be spent making sure everybody else knows what to do.
Patrick Has Been Productive, Durable During NFL Career
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GettyCenter Lucas Patrick (right), formerly of the Green Bay Packers, listens to a call from his former quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a game against the Chicago Bears.
Patrick will enter his sixth year in the NFL in 2022, after spending the first five campaigns of his career protecting four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers as a member of the Green Bay Packers.
Patrick has appeared in 73 of a possible 81 career games, per Pro Football Reference. He became a starter with the Packers in 2020, starting 28 of 33 regular season games for Green Bay at guard over the last two seasons.
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