Bears offensive lineman Lucas Patrick made his return to practice this week after being sidelined since early training camp with a broken right thumb.
Patrick has been wearing a cast while practicing this week, which isn’t new for the veteran, who played with a club in his rookie year with the Packers.
“I’ve done it before in my career,” Patrick said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “My rookie year coming out, broke my hand, played all camp with that, early on in my career in Green Bay, played with a club later in the season. So nothing new for me.”
But the fact that Patrick is the Bears’ starting center certainly changes things. After all, he played guard with that cast in Green Bay. So how is it snapping the ball with a cast?
“Well, it’s definitely different,” Patrick said. “Imagine something on your hand. It’s not that big of a deal. We’ll just cross these bridges as they come.”
On Wednesday, quarterback Justin Fields said he hadn’t taken a snap from Patrick so far this week, which isn’t a good indication he’ll be at center for Sunday’s opener. Although, that’s something that could certainly change.
But if the Bears are keen on not rushing Patrick back, he’s expected to kick over to right guard for the season opener. Unfortunately, that would leave Teven Jenkins, who’s found a new home at right guard, as the odd man out. At least for now.
