Getty Head coach Arthur Smith of the Atlanta Falcons looks on from the bench area.
Free agency is almost amongst us and the Atlanta Falcons have a lot of tough decisions to make with little money to do so.
But if there is one player the Falcons must spend money on re-signing, it’s running back/wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, according to longtime Dallas Cowboys scout and executive, Gil Brandt.
“Sure, Patterson’s late-career breakout season — he broke 1,000 scrimmage yards for the first time at age 30 — might pump up his price tag,” Brandt wrote in a recent article. “But with so much uncertainty swirling around Atlanta in the final phase of the Matt Ryan era, and with Calvin Ridley’s status with the team up in the air, the Falcons might as well go in for more multi-category fun with the resurgent Patterson.”
The good news is, the Falcons have already been in talks with Patterson and the dual-threat running back has made it clear he would like to finish his career in Atlanta. The bad news? Patterson will be looking for more money. But if there is a will––there is a way.
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Falcons and Patterson Have Been Talking
On Thursday, January 10, Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank informed the local media that they have been in talks with Patterson.
“From our standpoint, we’d love to have [Cordarrelle Patterson] back,” Blank said, per the team’s official website. “We saw the same thing that you saw on the field. I think this is a very talented player, a very talented athlete. This is a good example of when a coach understands the scheme – which he does, Coach Smith – and he takes an athlete like this and can use him in a variety of ways I think you see the kind of production that he can have. He’s a terrific young man. He’s great with the fans. He’s great in the locker room. He’s a real competitor… I hope that he’ll be a Falcon this time [next] year.”