Will Marquise Goodwin return kicks for Chicago Bears?
In the wake of losing Cordarelle Patterson to the Atlanta Falcons, the Chicago Bears were quick to counter by signing Marquise Goodwin to a one-year deal. It is obviously not a direct replacement, but the timing of one out and one coming right back in does make it look that way.
In losing Cordarelle Patterson it is hard to say the offense saw a huge loss. He is a gadget player and arguably was not used correctly anyways. With Goodwin, you have a downfield wide receiver, much more in the Taylor Gabriel mold than Patterson. It may be an upgrade on offense, but the value of Patterson was less on offense and more on special teams.
With Patterson out, the team does not have a perfect in-house candidate to return kicks. Tarik Cohen returned kicks in his rookie year, and has continued to return punts, but is much more shifty in that lateral game of punt returns than he is in kick returns, where it is more straight line and getting upfield.
The Bears signing Goodwin directly after losing an impact kick returner could signal they feel he is up for that job. The issue is that while Goodwin has returned kicks, he has not done so since 2015.
However, the caveat to that is that he was elevated from a depth player to a starter in 2016. From 2017-19 he played the most offensive snaps of his career. Then, Goodwin opted out in 2020.
So, while he has not returned kicks in a few years, it is less of he was not adequate and more that his role was bigger. In Chicago, he could be competing for number three wide receiver snaps. Still, after opting out, and at age 30, he could just as easily be the fifth WR. Either way, his role with Chicago on offense should be looked at as a bonus.
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With that in mind, he could have been signed with the idea that they are getting speedsters to return kicks. It is a bit different of a role for him, but he has been out of the NFL for a year and did not have serious demand. He has speed and knows how to run fast. As of today, he may be the front runner for the kick return job.