All things considered, the Lucas Patrick injury update could have been worse for the Chicago Bears. The team leaked to Brad Biggs that they expect Patrick to be out for the majority if not all of training camp, but that it could put him back in line to return in Week One.
Still, even if Patrick does not miss any games, the realization is that from now until the start of the season, the entire first-string offensive line will take zero snaps together.
All expectations are that Riley Reiff and Michael Scofield will be left tackle and right guard starters, respectively. Both of them were signed just days before training camp and were getting slowly adjusted with second-team repetitions and workouts on the side.
The first time Reiff and Scofield worked together was this weekend when Patrick had already gone down. All three are new names to the starting lineup, and now none of them will have taken a snap together when the Bears kick off week one.
Of course, the continuity on the offensive line is one thing; the other is the relationship with Justin Fields. Luckily Patrick is not limping around on crutches or anything and can get out there and talk to Justin Fields on the practice turf.
Still, the Chicago Bears signed Patrick to be the center of the future with Justin Fields, and now the two will have to build continuity together on the fly during the regular season. It is not a devastating setback, but a setback nonetheless.
This is a new offense for Fields and a new team for Patrick. While fans want to say that the Luke Getsy familiarity can wash away concerns, when Patrick started at center, Getsy was the QB coach. Nathaniel Hackett was the OC, and Matt LeFleur called the plays.
It will be similar in ways to what Patrick knows, but there is no way that he can just step in and say it is just what he did last season.
Patrick is losing time with new teammates, losing time with Fields, and losing time with a first-time offensive coordinator’s new offense. This is not a season-ender and may not drag into the season, but the timing certainly is unfortunate.