Michigan Football: Things go from bad to weird with Shea Patterson

It’s been a rough week or so for former Michigan football quarterback Shea Patterson and things went from bad to weird with an erroneous report.

At this point, you have to feel bad for former Michigan football quarterback Shea Patterson. Not only is Shea the only player to get invited to the combine to not at least sign with an NFL team, but how he’s become the subject of false reporting.

Ever since the 2020 NFL draft came to a close, Michigan football fans have been wondering if Patterson would sign a rookie free agent deal with an NFL team. Obviously, he wasn’t highly rated in the draft but he was among the top 15-20 quarterbacks and usually someone like that will at least get signed.

So far, nothing but silence when it comes to Patterson. Even Brian Lewerke at Michigan State got signed last Saturday by the New England Patriots.

Then, just to make matters worse, a report came out that Patterson has signed a rookie deal with the New York Giants. CBS Sports even listed is on the transaction wire with the Giants for a short time before it was removed.

Then, Matt Lombardo, a Giants beat reporter, took to Twitter to say that the report was indeed false and that were was no deal between Patterson and the Giants.

it’s just the latest turn in a saga that’s seen Patterson go from the No. 1 overall QB recruit in 2016, to someone with fairly solid draft stock following the 2018 season, to now someone NFL teams don’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole.

It’s hard to figure out how Patterson has fallen so fast and so far. Long-time NFL scout Gil Brandt struggled to explain it in a recent interview with the Detroit Free Press. But a piece on Patterson by the Athletic’s Zak Keefer could help clear things up.

In talking to the Athletic, Patterson was going over the draft process and responded to one question from the Steelers on what he would do if drafted by them. He said he’d lead them to a Super Bowl before his rookie deal was up.

Now that bravado and confidence isn’t all bad. But when teams view you as a marginal prospect, that’s probably not that answer they are looking for. Shea could have helped himself by being more humble and realizing the big holes in his game, at least when the NFL is concerned.

He’s a developmental project as best. If he’s lucky enough to get signed, he needs to work and show something just to make the practice squad or to be a No. 3.

That’s the best-case scenario. But if that chance never comes, it will say much more about Shea Patterson than Michigan football’s inability to develop him.