Rating: (0 votes - average)

Cameron Meredith is leaving his home to join the New Orleans Saints.

That wasn't his plan. Not necessarily, even though he knew it was a possibility when Chicago placed the lowest tender on him as a restricted free agent, then went out and spent big money to bring in wide receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel.

Meredith is Chicago through and through. Brought up in Berwyn, Illinois, a suburb of the Windy City, Meredith was a college quarterback at Illinois State, a two-hour drive away in Normal, then made his name in the NFL as a receiver with the Bears.



So when Chicago decided not to match the Saints' two-year, $9.6 million offer, it was a little tough.

"You know, it's my home city, so you know of course a bit of a disappointment," Meredith said. "So it was a surprise, but at the end of the day I signed that letter agreement with the Saints knowing that was a possibility. I was expecting to be a Saint, but if the Bears matched, it wouldn’t have been bad either."

Chicago reportedly chose not to match the offer because of concerns about Meredith's surgically repaired knee. Meredith was coming off of a breakout season in 2016 when he tore his ACL and his MCL in last year's preseason, and the Bears' medical staff reportedly was not convinced about knee's stability.

Both New Orleans and the Baltimore Ravens signed off on Meredith's knee, though, and the 25-year-old wide receiver believes he'll be healthy in time for the start of training camp.

"I have not had any setbacks along the recovery process. I’m gaining strength day by day," Meredith said. "The main objective for me is to do as much as I can with the trainers to get ready for the season. My goal is to try and get back to training camp, but as long as there aren’t any setbacks or anything like that, it should not be any problem."

Meredith did not want to speculate on Chicago's evaluation of his knee.

“That’s not my place to say," Meredith said. "From what I know and what I've been told, I’m right on schedule, and I haven’t had any setbacks, and I should be A-OK, at least from the medical standpoint."

read more on The Advocate

K Major

Glad to hear.

Beastmode

Very bad injury. I doubt he gets back to training camp on time or is brought along very slowly. Maybe see him in action in Oct is how I see it.

AsylumGuido

Want to bet on that? On what do you base your estimated return date?

He HAS been being "brought along very slowly". That's why he is on schedule to return prior to the season. The injury occurred last preseason. The standard recovery time for this type of injury is currently between 7 and 9 months.

Beastmode

The injury was much worse than a ACL tear. There was other damage to the knee. He is still not cleared 100%. Learning a new playbook as well...just don't see him contributing that much early on. Nobody even knows what option he will be. Will he be the WR3, 4, 5? He still has to compete against proven WR's that know the plays.

jnormand

I'm hoping for the best. He sure doesn't sound super confident right now. Maybe it's just me.

Rugby Saint II

Willie Snead reported to camp. If we don't sign another receiver we will be alright if Meredith can't contribute right away.

Meredith can play slot or on the outside which will allow Snead to get on the field as well. Thomas, Meredith and Snead will be hard to cover and should open up our running game more when you take a safety out of the box to help cover the receivers. Not to mention that Kamara and Ingram can catch as well and will require additional attention. Someone will be open and if we give Drew time to find the open receiver he will cut defenses apart.

From everything I've read about Meredith it looks like he is a competitor and he devotes the time studying his craft to get better.

AsylumGuido

He was already slated to be the #1 WR in Chicago for the 2017 season when he went down in the preseason. He can play either the "Y" or the "Z" opposite Thomas, if needed. The injury wasn't "much" worse than an ACL. The ACL WAS the worst part of the injury. He also suffered an MCL which is not as difficult a recovery. That said, the recovery from the two injuries would concurrent. The MCL would be fully healed before the ACL.

And, no, of course he isn't cleared 100%. He said that he is scheduled to be back (that means 100%) before the season, but he also said he feels confident he could be back (that means 100%) by the beginning of training camp. He also said he is going to San Diego to take part in Drew Brees' off season training that he has with the WR's, TE's and RB's every year.

And don't forget, his WR coach in Chicago was Curtis Johnson, his current coach in New Orleans. The transition will be easier for him than for most new players. Every team runs basically the same plays, possibly different vernacular, but the same. Ted Ginn didn't have any issues picking up the Saints scheme so why should Merideth? Plus, Meredith is a former QB and QB's usually have a better ability to learn more quickly than do players from other positions.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

AsylumGuido

?

How does he not sound confident? I listened to a live interview with him on NFL Radio a couple of days ago and he sounded VERY confident and upbeat. He reiterated the fact that his recovery is on schedule and he felt sure he would be ready for the regular season, if not even training camp. He said he is already running on grass.

Beastmode

I watched all his games in 16 and he just didn't strike me as that good. Decent but he would not be a WR1 on most teams. Bears were just desperate. If he was they would have counter offered.