Why Cordarrelle Patterson Needs to Think Before Tweeting
There were plenty of chuckles during Saturday's Bears Zoom press conference when Cordarrelle Patterson answered a question about his recent Twitter involvement.
Patterson had a habit during the offseason of getting involved as a "recruiter" via social media. Every time he urged the Bears to look into a player who was a free agent or available for trade, there was no corresponding action by the team.
Quinton Spain had just been cut last week and social media lit up over how the Bears should sign him, when Patterson tweeted something which obviously was an attempt to throw support behind signing Spain.
So when Patterson gave the answer he did about social media recruiting, it naturally caused some laughs.
"I don't know," Patterson said when asked. "I don't do no recruiting, man. That ain't even in my DNA, man. I'm just trying to stick to playing football. That's all I know how to do."
He was asked if it was just coincidence he had been watching Quinton Spain highlights.
"I don't know what you're talking about ... man. I think you've been reading the wrong tweets or something, man," Patterson said to more laughs.
Players like Stefon Diggs, Larry Warford and Teddy Bridgewater had been among the earlier attempts by Patterson.
If the Bears had signed half the players Patterson wanted them to pursue, they probably would have had to cut him and several other veterans just to get under the salary cap.
There's no doubt Patterson is a class act and one of the more popular free agents to be brought in by general manager Ryan Pace. He relates well with fans both in person and over social media.
However, Patterson's tweeting about players on other teams or free agents is something he needs to rethink, even if it's light-hearted.
While fans might like hearing these thoughts from him, how does a comment like this sit with Rashaad Coward and Alex Bars? The Bears have backups on the roster who they must rely on to replace injured James Daniels. It's probably not likely they appreciate hearing a teammate is on social media suggesting they bring in someone to do this job instead of them.
The typical fan reaction would be to say then those players should just get the job done rather than complain. And this is true. But they don't need teammates expressing dissatisfaction with the job they're doing. They're supposed to be getting support from teammates. That's what a team does.
If you want an example of the opposite effect, here it is: Washington 25, Dallas 3.
The Cowboys had players criticizing each other all week, coaches being criticized too. It's a good way to have a team fall to pieces from within.
In Chicago, this has already happened. In 2014 Brandon Marshall became the lightning rod to start it all. The whole team fell apart from within. The coach and GM got fired.
The Bears are a 5-1 team and beneifted from some good fortune, but also have made some big comebacks and held on at the end of games in close battles because they have excellent team chemistry. It helps in tough times, but they don't need someone disturbing the status quo buy urging another player be brought into the mix.
If a player needs to be signed or traded for, it's Pace's job to realize this and get it done. He doesn't need a player without a contract for next year telling him who he should sign.
More importantly teammates don't need the vote of no-confidence conveyed by Patterson's tweets about signing other players, no matter how unintended the slight.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
