The Chicago Bears will be without veteran center/guard Lucas Patrick for the rest of the season. On Wednesday, head coach Matt Eberflus announced Patrick had surgery a couple weeks ago to repair his injured toe that has kept him out for the last four weeks and will miss the rest of the year.
Coach Eberflus announced that Lucas Patrick had surgery a couple of weeks ago and won't return this season pic.twitter.com/kgv8zJeMI0
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 23, 2022
Patrick injured his toe during the Bears’ 33-14 route of the New England Patriots back in late October and was placed on injured reserve, forcing him to miss the last four games. He was eligible to be activated this week, but he’ll now miss the final six games as he recovers.
Patrick was signed this spring to a two-year deal after six seasons with the Green Bay Packers. The veteran lineman was slated to become the team’s new starting center, but a thumb injury forced him to miss almost the entirety of training camp and the preseason. He returned for Week 1, but played guard almost exclusively during the regular season. Patrick was making his first regular-season start at center against the Patriots before he was injured.
The Bears will now rely on Sam Mustipher for the rest of the season as their starting center. Mustipher was set to back Patrick up, but wound up starting due to Patrick’s thumb injury and will now continue doing so as the Bears gear up for the final portion of their season.
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