Bears offensive lineman Lucas Patrick will face his former team the Packers on Sunday night, where he has a chance to help Chicago get back on the right side of what’s been a one-sided rivalry for Green Bay.
While the Bears have four permanent captains for the season in Justin Fields, Roquan Smith, Robert Quinn and Cody Whitehair, head coach Matt Eberflus will name one honorary captain each week.
And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Patrick will serve as that captain in Week 2 against his former team, and Patrick feels honored about the opportunity.
“I mean it’s pretty huge,” Patrick said. “Any time you can be a captain and be up there representing your team and this great organization, it means a lot. It’s pretty impactful to me. I know it’s going to be a storyline – me going back there and all that. But it’s pretty cool for me to be an honorary captain for this game and be out there on Lambeau with my guys.”
Despite the bitter rivalry between the Bears and Packers, there’s no love lost with Patrick and his former team.
“I’m not going to sit here and bash an organization because I wouldn’t be here today standing with you all if it weren’t for the opportunity afforded to me,” Patrick said. “I had a lot of memories there with close family and friends. I know you guys probably don’t like to hear this, but we have personalities and feelings. I have some friends still there. So, yeah, I’ll definitely have some gratitude and some emotions, but at the end of the day, I have a job to do, and I’ve got to execute that job.”
As Patrick recovers from a broken thumb that’s prevented him from snapping the ball, he rotated at right guard with Teven Jenkins in last week’s season opener. It’s unclear whether that will continue in Week 2 or when Patrick will be ready to move back to center.
