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Ex-Cowboys Scout Reveals Player Falcons Must Keep

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.”

The Falcons signed Patterson to a one-year, $3 million deal last year and after a breakout 2021 season, he’ll be expecting a bigger deal.

Patterson was initially drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. Since parting ways with the Vikings in 2016, he has played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears.

After almost a decade in the league, the Falcons were the first team to figure out how to use Patterson to his best abilities in their offensive system. By doing so, Patterson recorded a career-high of 607 rushing yards, 547 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.


Falcons’ 2022 Unrestricted Free Agents

Below is the complete list of Atlanta’s 2022 unrestricted free agents who will be allowed to sign anywhere else come March 16:

Foyesade Oluokun LB
Duron Harmon S
Fabian Moreau CB
Erik Harris S
Steven Means EDGE
Russell Gage WR
Tajae Sharpe WR
Cordarrelle Patterson WR
Dante Fowler Jr. EDGE
Hayden Hurst TE
Josh Harris LS
Lee Smith TE
Brandon Copeland EDGE
Mike Pennel IDL
Thomas Morstead P
Jonathan Bullard IDL
Shawn Williams S
Isaiah Oliver CB
Jason Spriggs LT
Josh Rosen QB
Emmanuel Ellerbee LB
Daren Bates LB
Josh Andrews C
A.J. McCarron QB

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The Falcons have a lot of decisions to make come March 16, but one should be a no brainer.