With the Green Bay Packers experiencing a salary cap squeeze, the idea of cutting Lucas Patrick has been mooted by fans and armchair capologists as an easy way to save a few bucks.
After an influx of draft picks, and Ben Braden being touted as a potential starter by Packers offensive line coach Adam Stenavich, trimming Patrick’s $1.95m salary may seem like a prudent move.
But such a suggestion doesn’t give Patrick nearly enough credit for the quality of his play as a Packer.
The lineman appeared in all 16 regular season games last year as Green Bay reached the doorstep of the Super Bowl, starting 15 and playing 90% of the team’s offensive snaps.
In that time, Patrick had the 6th best pass block win rate among all NFL guards, winning 94% of his battles. He also committed just two penalties in 939 snaps.
Those numbers indicate the scale of his role on an offensive line that PFF ranked as the league’s 2nd best for the 2020 season.
It’s a line that has since been depleted with the loss of Corey Linsley to free agency.
Whilst everyone of a green and gold persuasion is hoping/assuming Josh Myers will step right in at center and the train will keep on rolling, that’s far from a given.
Patrick has experience playing everywhere on the interior and the 27-year-old is also the third most senior member of the O-Line room, behind David Bakhtiari, who may well miss the start of the season, and Billy Turner.
Number 62 has been in Green Bay for five years now and knows what it means to be a Green Bay Packer. He knows the offense and how Aaron Rodgers wants to run it.
He also became more of an enforcer in 2020, showing a nasty streak and a no-nonsense approach. Patrick’s younger teammates will certainly appreciate having some backup when the war starts.
With Green Bay’s penchant for mixing and matching along the offensive line, having a known quantity who has proven he can get the job done, is a huge asset.
The notion that Patrick could or should be released implies that he’s expendable, but he’s proven to be very steady, which is a lot harder to find than a lot of fans may think.
It would be a gamble to assume any member of the younger, unproven crop of linemen could instantly produce the same level of solid play.
When you take into account everything that Patrick brings to the table, cutting him to save less than two million dollars doesn’t make a lot of sense, because he’s actually underpaid based on his value to the Packers.
No doubt Patrick will have a fight on his hands in training camp to reassert his spot on the team, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t come through it.
Don’t underestimate the grit and determination of a former undrafted free agent who has had to fight for everything he’s got in the NFL.
Forget being a cap casualty, Lucas Patrick could once again have a major role on the Green Bay Packers offensive line in 2021.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @Marko7LW.
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