Former Minnesota Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson has reportedly been traded by the Oakland Raiders to the New England Patriots.
In his first season away from the Minnesota Vikings, things didn’t go as well with the Oakland Raiders as Cordarrelle Patterson had likely hoped.
In 2017, Patterson only managed to haul in 31 passes for just 309 yards. However, he did manage to carry the football 13 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns last season as well.
As the Raiders’ kick returner in 2017, Patterson failed to have a return of 50 yards or more for the first time in his five NFL seasons. Last year was also just the second time in his pro career in which he did not return a kick for a touchdown at any point in the season.
With a new coaching staff led by Jon Gruden, Patterson is apparently not in Oakland’s future plans as they have reportedly agreed to a trade that will send the former Vikings receiver to the New England Patriots.
The #Raiders are trading Cordarrelle Patterson to the #Patriots, pending physical, source confirms (as first reported by the @PardonMyTake scoopmasters). New England adding serious speed and a return threat.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 18, 2018
Terms: The #Patriots traded for WR Cordarrelle Patterson, while swapping a 5th round pick for a #Raiders 6th round pick.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2018
For Patterson, he gets a fresh start with a team whose starting quarterback is a guaranteed, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in Tom Brady.
For Patterson, he gets a fresh start with a team whose starting quarterback is a guaranteed, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in Tom Brady.
The former Minnesota receiver only has one-year remaining on his current contract and the Patriots could actually release him before the start of the next season without owing a single penny. So it is actually possible that Patterson could still be looking for a new team in 2018 if New England cannot find a role in their offense for him this summer.
Next: Realistic free-agent options for the Vikings' offense in 2018
However, the Patriots will probably just figure out how to use the former Vikings receiver out on the field like no team has before and turn him into a First-Team All-Pro for 2018. Why should anyone expect anything different, right?