Cordarrelle Patterson

At 33 years old, Cordarrelle Patterson has this physical status:

Cordarrelle Patterson (kor-DARR-?l; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed Flash, is an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).

In the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, he was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.

He played college football at Tennessee. Patterson tied the NFL record for longest play against the Green Bay Packers in 2013 and set the NFL record for longest kick return with 109 yards, the longest ever.

Patterson, a versatile player, also serves as a return specialist and occasionally a running back.

Early years

Patterson attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he played football, basketball, and track. Jimmy Wallace coached him. He made 75 passes for 944 yards with 18 touchdowns as a senior in 2008 and was named All-state selector. Patterson was also a three-year letterman at Northwestern High School in track & field. He completed a post-graduate year at North Carolina Tech Preparatory Christian Academy in 2009 but did not play football, and he was forced to drop out of football by the spring and enroll at Hutchinson Community College.

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College career

Patterson played junior college football and was named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American in 2010 and 2011. Hutchinson, C.C., has more than a dozen records, including career touchdowns (1,832), career touchdowns (24), career kickoff returns average (41.9), and career all-purpose yards (3,379).

Patterson was a first-team All-American as a freshman in 2011, winning the award as a return specialist. He had 645 yards on 21 combined kickoff and punt returns with three touchdowns, as well as 49 touchdowns on 908 yards and nine touchdowns.

Patterson, a sophomore, earned first-team All-American honors on offense and was named the 2011 Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Year after throwing the ball 32 times for 379 yards and 15 touchdowns and averaging 48.2 yards on ten kickoff returns with three different scores.

Patterson also competed in track & field, where he set new personal records of 10.33 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 21.19 seconds at the Jayhawk Conference Championship in addition to football. At the Southwestern Invitational Championships, he also competed in the long jump and set a new personal record of 6.85 meters (22 ft, 4.5 in). Patterson was part of a 4x100-meter relay team that ran in 40.32 (season-best). He helped the sprint medley 1,600-meter unit time record in 3:28.50 at the Lawrence Meet.

Patterson came from Hutchinson Community College in 2012, and he was a highly regarded recruit. Patterson, who was rated as a 5-star prospect by 247Sports.com and the best JUCO player in the country, has received scholarships from top-tier Division I colleges. Over LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, and others, he ultimately decided on the University of Tennessee rather than LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, and others.

In 2012, he played for Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers football team in Tennessee. He made an immediate impression with his athleticism and offensive versatility. He excelled as both a return specialist and all-purpose running back, being primarily used as a wide receiver. He had six receptions for 93 yards and a receiving touchdown in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, as well as two rushes for 72 yards and a rushing touchdown in the season opener, a 35–21 victory over North Carolina State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. With three receptions for 71 receiving yards, an 18-yard run, and three kick returns for 108 net yards in the next game, he demonstrated his versatility with three receptions for 71 yards, an 18-yard foul, and three kick returns for 108 net yards. He had eight receptions for 75 receiving yards and a touchdown in the following game, a 37-20 loss to the rival Florida Gators. In a 51–44 shootout loss to the Georgia Bulldogs on September 29, he had limited success in the 47–26 victory over the Akron Zips. He had nine receptions for 219 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 55-48 victory over Troy. He had an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown on November 17, in a 41–18 loss to rival Vanderbilt. In the 37–17 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, he had four receptions for 88 receiving yards and a touchdown. Despite Tennessee's embarrassing 5-7 record in the 2012 season, the quarterback scored at least one touchdown by reception, rush, kickoff, and punt return, with ten total touchdowns in 12 games. Patterson set up a school-record 1,858 all-purpose yards (set by Reggie Cobb in 1987) to place first in the SEC, ranking 18th in NCAA, ranked first in 12.

Patterson, along with college teammates Tyler Bray, Justin Hunter, and Darrington Sentimore, announced their intent to leave college early and register for the 2013 NFL Draft.

Professional career

Patterson was selected in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings in a draft-day trade with the New England Patriots; the Patriots received four draft picks (a second, third, and seventh).

Patterson caught his first NFL pass from quarterback Christian Ponder on September 8 for a 10-yard gain and had two kicks returned for 54 yards in the season-opener on September 8. Patterson scored his first NFL touchdown in his second game against the Chicago Bears on September 15, marking the first kickoff return touchdown the Bears had allowed since September 30, 2007. Patterson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his outstanding work on special teams during the month of September. Patterson threw a touchdown in Week 8, tying the NFL record for the longest play ever. Patterson was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week following his appearance against the Green Bay Packers. Patterson made his first touchdown pass on a two-yard touchdown reception on November 7, catching his first touchdown pass. Patterson had a touchdown for 33 yards on December 1, assisting the Vikings in overtime over the Chicago Bears. Patterson's best-receiving effort of the season came against the Baltimore Ravens with five catches for 141 yards in Week 14; in that game, he scored his longest receiving touchdown after taking a bubble screen pass from Matt Cassel 79 yards to the end zone with just 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. In the season-opening victory over the Detroit Lions over December 29, he scored the final two touchdowns at the Metrodome. In the first quarter, the first of them scored on a 50-yard run, followed by an 8-yard reception at 9:19 left in the game. The rushing touchdown tied for the longest running touchdown by a Vikings receiver, a team record.

Patterson had 45 receptions, 469 yards, and five touchdowns in his rookie season. Patterson was selected to play in the Pro Bowl on January 2, 2014, filling in for Antonio Brown. Patterson was named as a starter on the 2013 Associated Press' All-Pro team as the kick returner on January 3, 2014.

Patterson went through a rough 2014 season under new head coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner. In 2014, the team drafted rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, but Bridgewater and Patterson were unable to establish any chemistry. For 384 yards and one touchdown, the second year receiver had only 33 passes for 384 yards and one touchdown. His return yards were also sluggish. Patterson was fired from his start job to Charles Johnson, a practice squad member with the Cleveland Browns. In the seventh round of the Green Bay Packers, Johnson was drafted the same year as Patterson. Patterson went from starter to fourth on the team's depth chart by the end of the 2014 season.

After veteran wide receiver Greg Jennings was suspended during the off-season, Patterson had a chance to regain his starting position. Patterson was dropped to fifth position and relegated to return duties after newly signed veteran Mike Wallace established himself as the starter and rookie Stefon Diggs emerged as a premier receiver in Charles Johnson's absence. He saw little action at wide receiver through the season, with just two receptions in all seasons. However, he did have two kick return touchdowns, the first against the Oakland Raiders in Week 10 and the second against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13.

Patterson struggled as a receiver in 2016, but he maintained his good kick returner. He was named to his second Pro Bowl and second All-Pro team, both as a returner. He had 52 receptions for 453 passing yards and two touchdowns. In addition,, he had 25 kickoff returns for 792 net yards and a return touchdown, which were against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11.

Patterson agreed to a two-year, $8.5 million contract with the Oakland Raiders on March 13, 2017. Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Seth Roberts, and Johnny Holton were among his rank units that included Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Seth Roberts, and Johnny Holton.

Patterson had one rush for five yards and two receptions for two yards in his Tennessee Titans debut on September 10, 2017 and appeared as the kickoff returner in his Raiders debut. The Raiders defeated the Raiders on the road by a score of 26–16. Patterson had three carries for 57 yards and a 43-yard touchdown in the 45-20 victory, as well as a six-yard reception and 70 return yards. He had a 47-yard rushing touchdown when the Raiders barely lost by a score of 17-16 to the Los Angeles Chargers just after Week 6.

Patterson finished the 2017 season with 31 receptions for 309 yards, two touchdowns, and 19 return for 538 yards.

The Raiders and Patterson, a 2018 sixth-round pick, have agreed to trade Patterson and a 2018 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a 2019 fifth-round pick on March 18, 2018. Two days later, the agreement was officially announced.

Patterson made his Patriots debut against the Houston Texans, recording a six-yard touchdown, 13 rushing yards, and 19 return yards in a 27-20 victory. On a 55-yard touchdown against the Miami Dolphins, he scored his first touchdown as a Patriot. Patterson won by 38–7 with three receptions for 54 yards and an 11-yard carry. During a Week 738–31 road win over the Chicago Bears, he fumbled the ball early in the game but later recovered a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown. Patterson had four touchdowns for 179 yards as well as a four-yard carry. The Patriots used Patterson as their second running back to back up James White against the Green Bay Packers two weeks later. Patterson led the team in rushing after being pushed out of the tailback position, gaining 61 yards on 11 runs and scoring a touchdown. Patterson had 21 receptions for 247 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 42 runs for 228 yards and a touchdown on the season. He has also completed 23 kicks for 663 yards and a touchdown.

The Patriots ranked fifth in AFC East with an 11-5 record and were ranked #2 for the AFC Playoffs. Patterson appeared in his first playoff game with the Vikings since the 2015 season. In the 41–28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional Round, he had a three-yard rush and a 23-yard kick return. In the 37–31 overtime road victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, he had two receptions for 18 yards and returned three kicks for 80 yards. In Super Bowl LIII, Patterson had two receptions for 14 yards, a 38-yard kick return, and seven rushing yards.

Patterson also agreed to a two-year, $10 million contract with the Chicago Bears on March 13, 2019.

Patterson made his Bears debut against the Green Bay Packers in the season's opener. The Bears lost 10–3. He ran once for 2 yards and caught a three-yard touchdown. Patterson had a 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints on Week 7 in the 36-26 loss.

Patterson fired off return yards on ten attempts and four tackles as a gunner on punts in November. For his work, he was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the second time in his career, and the first Bears player to win the award since Devin Hester in October 2011. Patterson was named as a starter on the 2020 Pro Bowl roster on December 17, 2019, and at the time, he led the NFC in kickoff return average with 29.6 yards per return.

Patterson was named as a kick returner and second-team All-Pro as a special teamer at the end of the season. He had the NFL's most kick return yards (825), while his yards per return (29.5) led the NFC and was second in the league, ranking second in the league. Patterson's 29.9 kickoff return average was also the second-highest in the Bears' franchise history behind Gale Sayers.

Patterson tied for the most kickoff return touchdowns in a career after losing by 19-13 to his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, on Monday Night Football. In 1967, Sayers' record for the longest kickoff return in team history tied for the highest kickoff return in franchise history, beating Sayers' 103-yard record.

Patterson was named as an All-Pro to the Pro Bowl for the second straight season on December 21, 2020. He led the league in kickoff returns (32) and yards per return (29.4) at the time of the roster reveal. Patterson had the most rushing attempts and rushing yards in his career on record this season, with 64 attempts and 232 yards respectively.

Patterson, 20,21, signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons on April 15, 2021.

Patterson had seven rushing attempts for 11 touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in Week 2, as well as five receptions for 58 receiving yards and a touchdown. Patterson won by six passes for 86 yards in Week 3 over the New York Giants. Patterson was unstoptable on Week 4 against the Washington Football Team, with three touchdowns a season high. Patterson had 54 passing yards and 60 receiving yards in Week 5 against the New York Jets in London, as well as his first career pass. Patterson returned against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 after a bye week in Week 6, with 60 passing yards and a touchdown. Patterson had six receptions for 126 yards against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9, including a 64-yard catch at the end of the game that put the Falcons in range for a game-winning field goal.

Patterson returned against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 after suffering an injury in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys. He had 108 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns, both career highs. Patterson made his first appearance for the Falcons on defense in the same game, playing one down at safety during a hail mary attempt. As the third-string safety, the Falcons added him to the depth chart following the game.

Patterson had 153 rushes for 618 yards, 52 receptions for 548 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns, all career-highs. Patterson was ranked 73rd by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.

Patterson re-signed with the Falcons on March 22, 2022, for a two-year, $10.5 million contract. In a 27–26 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Patterson started the 2022 season with 22 passing yards and one rushing touchdown. In Week 3 against the Seattle Seahawks, he had 17 passes for 141 yards and one rushing touchdown. For this game, he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Patterson, the Falcons' running back, started in 2022, and the Falcons were back for the 2022 season in 2022. Patterson was rewarded with NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 3 as he went for a career-high 141 yards and a touchdown in a 27-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. After causing a knee injury in Week 4, he was put on injured reserve on October 3, 2022.

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