We chat with Cameron Meredith after he moves on from the Chicago Bears and signs with the New Orleans Saints.
More from Bear Goggles On
- Franchise tag and transition tag windows open for Chicago Bears and NFL
- How the Chicago Bears can control the running back market in 2023
- The Chicago Bears can own the city of Chicago moving forward
- Chicago Bears NFL Combine Preview: Quarterback
- 7 best free agent tackle options for Chicago Bears
The Cameron Meredith saga was a crazy one for the Chicago Bears and their fans. Many fans questioned Ryan Pace’s strategy with Meredith from the get go while others wanted it to play out. Regardless, once Meredith signed an offer sheet with the New Orleans Saints, the tension mounted and when the Bears chose not to match, plenty of fans questioned the decision.
We had a chance to chat with Cameron Meredith about his rehab, his surgery, his free agent process and the 5 days he waited to find out if he was going to be a Saint or a Bear. Check it out!
1. How has the rehab been going on the knee so far?
It’s been going great, like I said, I haven’t had any setbacks, nothing that would put me back behind schedule or anything like that. I just keep working every day and focus on making progress, each and every day, every month, making the quad stronger, and you know, that’s really been the issue. Since I did have that MCL, I’ve had a little bit of atrophy in my quad. There was a little bit of a doubt about it, but me personally, I haven’t been limited on running or jumping or anything like that. So me personally, I’m right on schedule.
So you’ve been running and jumping on it already?
Oh yeah, for sure. I’ve been doing that for a couple of months now.
2. So is this something where you expect to be ready for camp or are you looking at more of a PUP situation?
I’m not really sure how it’ll all work out. But like I said, I haven’t had any setbacks in my recovery and my rehab. That’s my goal is to be back for training camp so I’m ready for the season and don’t get off to a slow start. But like I said, I don’t want to do anything stupid and go out too early and take another step back. I would rather be 100% and go out there and play how I know I can play. Right now, I don’t see any reason why that can’t happen.
3. Take us through the thought process for your surgery where you chose to go with your own personal doctor rather than have the Bears’ team doctor perform the operation?
Right after the injury, I was told I needed to get it done pretty quickly, the surgery. So I did my homework, I saw a couple of doctors, I saw one in New York, that’s the one who ended up doing my surgery. I saw two in Chicago, the team doctor and another one. I talked it over with my family, really prayed on it, and thought that was the best option for me was to do that. Once I did that, the Bears were aware of everything, I kept the communication lines open. It was pretty smooth, they were always in the loop, the rehab went well, and they talked back and forth. That whole process wasn’t too bad. You know, being with the team doctor is the normal thing to do, but I just felt that this was the best way for me to go with the MCL and a couple other things.
4. How much communication was there with yourself and the Bears once free agency got going? Did you know you were going to be tendered and at what level? What was that process like?
I wouldn’t say (I talked to Bears) directly. My agent was doing most of the talking for me. I was told I was going to get either the low-round tender or the second-round tender so I didn’t really know what to expect. But once I did get the low round tender they kind of explained that there was going to be an opportunity for me to go out and test the market and that’s kind of what happened.
5. And once you decided to sign with the Saints, because you also received an offer from the Ravens, correct?
Yeah.
Okay, so once you made the decision and signed the offer sheet with the Saints, what were those 5 days like while you waited to find out your fate and did you have any communication with the Bears during that time?
You know, this process was a little bit different than probably the average free agent process. There wasn’t much communication as far as those 5 days go. I knew I was going to have to wait a little while so they could play it out. I wasn’t really sure how long it was going to take. But on the last day, I met with Ryan Pace. He and Coach Nagy sat me down and we had a face-to-face. I think it was a really good thing to do, especially in this situation. All things aside, we left on a good note, so no bad blood between us.