How Cordarrelle Patterson's Recruiting Could Pay Off
If nothing else, Cordarrelle Patterson is persistent.
He's been trying to recruit players to Chicago in free agency and is 0-for-5 at the moment.
Stefon Diggs, Xavier Rhodes, Teddy Bridgewater, Tom Brady and Darius Slay were all mentioned on Twitter by Patterson as he sought to help GM Ryan Pace spend money he doesn't have.
In almost all cases, these were players Patterson once played with on other NFL teams.
His latest one actually makes sense, but the Bears really lack the money to pursue it because they're down to about $700,000 left under the cap according to Spotrac.com. Patterson is urging them to sign former Jets guard Kelechi Osemele, who was cut near the trading deadline last season after a medical dispute with his team.
Osemele knows Patterson from their days together on the Oakland Raiders. He's a former teammate of Khalil Mack's and made All-Pro in 2016 and the Pro Bowl in 2016 and 2017.
With the Bears looking for guard help, the signing of a legitimate starting guard would help them focus their draft on defensive backs or a speed receiver.
At this late of a date in the free agency process, Osemele would likely be more of a bargain and couldn't command the $5.2 million he cost against the Jets' cap last year.
Osemele was a Ravens second-round draft pick in 2012 and started every game that season in winning a ring. They moved him to guard the next year and he has been at guard every season except in 2015 when he played some tackle.
The big drawback to Osemele is his health, and there is currently no way to verify his condition because of the coronavirus freeze in the NFL.
Jets medical officials didn't think Osemele needed surgery to get through the season but he did and underwent surgery against their wishes for a torn labrum in his right shoulder. There was a grievance filed with the NFLPA because the Jets fined him the amount of his game checks each week.
So until his shoulder injury is verified the Bears couldn't sign him.
More importantly from their standpoint, they can't sign anyone until they either get a contract extension done for Allen Robinson to free up cap space in 2020, or restructure another veteran's contract or two for extra cash.
They also could cut someone and save cash.
Patterson might want to quit tweeting about signing players because high among the contracts most disposable on the Bears' payroll is his.
They could save $4.75 million by cutting him before or after June 1.
There's another reason for discouraging players from openly recruiting like Patterson did.
Trying to bring in other players can rankle existing teammates at those positions. They'd feel the way Ha Ha Clinton-Dix must have felt before free agency started when Bears players tweeted about bringing in safety Tony Jefferson, who is recovering from an ACL tear.
It's not good for team morale.
The Bears could certainly use a guard. The signing of Germain Ifedi wasn't necessarily a starting acquisition. He could be a swing tackle and backup guard.
The medical situation of Osemele as well as Jefferson are issues to watch as players hope for normalcy to return to the NFL's offseason cycle.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
