Chicago Bears Looking for Patrick to Be Leader of Offensive Line

For the Chicago Bears, Lucas Patrick was one of the biggest free agent signings this offseason. Now the team wants him to be the leader of the offensive line.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles took a lot of criticism this offseason for not surrounding second-year quarterback Justin Fields with not only weapons but also protection.

Poles was in a tough situation coming in. The Bears had cap space trouble and not a lot of draft picks. He did do a great job of clearing cap space by trading big contracts and letting veterans go.

The problem is that the Bears will see all that savings starting next season. This offseason, Poles signed low-end players trying to finally catch a break.

There was one signing that could have big implications for the team. One player Poles signed who could be significant in a future Chicago Bears resurgence — center Lucas Patrick.

Patrick will be the starting center this year. He comes from the hated Green Bay Packers. He was a guard who played in a pinch at center and did so well that now he is there full time.

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The Bears look at Patrick as a leader

Patrick is an important piece of the offense. Yes, he has to do his regular job of snapping the ball and blocking. However, there is more that he needs to do.

While the most important player on the line is the tackle who blocks the quarterback’s blindside, the center is the one who has the most important relationship with the signal-caller. The two players are joined at the hip.

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Patrick is a veteran who can help the young Fields. He will give Fields tips and information to help out. Patrick played with a future Hall of Fame quarterback for six seasons so he knows how a great quarterback handles himself and prepares for games. That could be invaluable information for Fields.

Another way Patrick helps Fields is with his familiarity with the offense. New offensive coordinator Luke Getsy also came over from Green Bay. He’ll use some similar aspects of Green Bay’s offense so Patrick knows what to expect. He’ll be able to use that information to help Fields as well as the other offensive players.

With his understanding of Getsy’s system and the experience in the league to share with Fields, the Bears need Patrick to be the leader of the offensive line. He has the nastiness to stand up to the defensive players. Poles mentioned that nastiness when he signed Patrick.

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.

Now he needs to have the skills to convince his offensive linemates to follow him. Also, he needs to help Fields develop and feel more comfortable so that when the Bears finally get better the quarterback position won’t be a question anymore.

Patrick embraces the role of a leader

For his part, Patrick is ready for his new role as leader. Actually, it seems that he’s relishing the thought of being a leader.

It’s definitely a challenge and I’m loving it. When younger guys are asking me questions, I need to be right… It’s forcing me to be my best. It’s another way of competition, because I’m not competing against other guys, I’m competing against myself every day. My better has to be even better the next day, and the next day has to be even better than that. And it’s awesome because you have the backing from being hand-picked, I guess you could say.

Patrick will be a big part of molding this offensive line. In addition to freeing up a ton of salary cap space, Poles converted five draft picks into 11. of those picks, he selected four offensive linemen. They might not get a whole lot of playing time off the back, but some of them have high hopes of being contributors in 2023.

In the meantime, Patrick will be there to help mold them in addition to helping Fields. He’s the alpha dog who will help the young pups develop.

Patrick is fired up with the new expectations. Additionally, he loves the fact that Poles is a former offensive lineman. He feels that Poles knows what it takes to build a good offensive line.

Poles said he wanted to have a lean, athletic offensive line filled with nasty players. Well, that’s exactly what he got in Patrick Now Patrick will be unleashed first to his teammates then to the league. We might have to trudge through another frustrating season in 2022, but with Patrick as the leader we should expect a different attitude from the offensive line.