Cordarrelle Patterson’s performance through five training camp practices with the Patriots has not met his standards.
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Oakland Raiders, the veteran wide receiver-kickoff returner is seeking perfection as he gets into the Patriots preseason routine.
“To be honest, it hasn’t gone as I want it to go,” said Patterson. “Like I said, there’s a lot of mistakes I’ve been making and I’m just trying to get better each and every day. … New offense, new scheme, new everything, so I just need to stop thinking so much as a player and just go out there and play football like I’ve been doing my whole life.”
He’s done it for five NFL seasons – the first four with Minnesota followed by one with the Raiders. A first-round pick (29th overall) of the Vikings in the 2013 draft, Patterson signed with Oakland as an unrestricted free agent in 2017 and was packaged with a sixth-round pick and sent to the Patriots in exchange for a fifth-round choice.
Patterson has 163 receptions for 1,625 yards and seven touchdowns through 80 games. Those numbers may not be eye-popping, but look at his return game – a 30.2-yard kickoff return average is second in league history to Gale Sayers (30.6). Along the way, he’s returned five kickoffs for touchdowns, one of them a league-record 109-yarder versus Green Bay on Oct. 27, 2013. He’s also had four TDs runs of 40 or more yards in his career.
But there was no such electricity as Patterson circled under a kickoff by Stephen Gostkowski.
“My first kick I dropped,” said Patterson. “I was a little nervous. … But you know what, as the practice went on, I feel like I belong here.”
It’s a feeling Patterson looks to carry on going forward.
“Any time you’re with the best quarterback (Tom Brady) and the best coach (Bill Belichick) on the whole planet your nerves are going to run each and every day because you know everybody’s watching you,” said Patterson. “I feel like next week I’ve just got to stop thinking about so much that’s going on and just tune in to my job. Like I say, I’ve been doing it my whole life. Just go ahead and do what I know to do best.”
• Wide receiver Eric Decker worked out for the Patriots on Monday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates , and the 31-year-old wideout still looking to land with a team after playing with the Tennessee Titans in 2017.
Decker was limited to one touchdown reception and 563 receiving yards last year with the Titans, but reeled in 51 touchdowns from 2011-16 with the Broncos and Jets. The veteran could be a solid veteran addition to a Patriots’ offense dealing with some injuries.
So far during training camp, the Patriots’ have seen wideout Jordan Matthews go down with an apparent hamstring injury, while Malcolm Mitchell is still listed as “day to day” by Coach Bill Belichick.
Kenny Britt is yet another injured Patriots receiver, with the 29-year-old opening training camp on the PUP list, while Julian Edelman will miss the first four games of the regular season due to his suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
JAGUARS: Jalen Ramsey reported to training camp for the first time since the birth of his daughter and jumped right into the mix with the first-team defense, taking part in drills, talking trash and breaking up passes.
VIKINGS: Minnesota signed receiver Stefon Diggs to a five-year extension, moving the star of the “Minneapolis Miracle” pass into the NFL’s top 10 highest-paid players at his position.
The new deal is valued at $72 million plus an additional $9 million in possible incentives. Diggs, who will play the final season of his rookie deal for the original base salary of slightly more than $1.9 million, received a $15 million signing bonus.
SEAHAWKS: Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin missed a third straight practice on Tuesday while dealing with a knee issue. Coach Pete Carroll said after practice that Baldwin had a sore knee coming into camp. He practiced the first two days with the team before being held out each of the last three practices.
49ERS: Defensive lineman Arik Armstead has been sidelined by a hamstring injury and is week-to-week
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