A Bears Rookie Got Pranked By A Fake Bill Belichick On Draft Day

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Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Cameron Meredith had the best game of his young NFL career last weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs, so fans are starting to take notice of the 23-year-old wideout.

As the subject of a feature in the Chicago Tribune this week, Meredith’s unusual path to the pros was detailed in depth. The piece mainly focuses on the fact that Meredith switched from backup quarterback to wide receiver after his sophomore year at Illinois State and only started 14 college games at receiver before making the jump to the NFL.

But arguably the most interesting tidbit from the story comes from this year’s NFL Draft. Meredith was not selected in the draft but, at one point, he thought he had been, and it was all because of a pretty mean-spirited prank by someone pretending to be Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

On Friday, the second day of the draft, Meredith was out to dinner with an uncle and his friend when his phone rang.

“The person called and said they were (Bill) Belichick and it was near the last pick of the third round,” Meredith said. “The guy said, ‘We’re taking you with the next pick.’ ”

Meredith sat in disbelief watching the screen as the Patriots selected Oklahoma defensive end Geneo Grissom 97th overall with the third-to-last pick of Round 3.

“They had the second pick in the fourth round the next day and so I was thinking, ‘OK, maybe it is tomorrow,’ ” Meredith said, not yet deflated.

He called his agent, who made some calls, and they quickly figured out Meredith was the victim of a twisted prank.

“That just fueled the fire for me even more right there,” Meredith said. “I wanted to make it.”

That really has to be a terrible feeling thinking your dream is about to come true, only to watch another guy’s name flash across the screen and then, on top of that, not getting selected throughout the remainder of the entire draft. Ultimately, Meredith signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent, survived roster cuts and is turning into an impact player already. So, not only has he gotten some sweet revenge on the jerk who “pranked” him, but maybe Belichick should have called him.

(Via the Chicago Tribune)

 

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