The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Cordarrelle Patterson earlier this offseason, with the goal for the 11-year veteran to serve as the team’s primary kick returner. But Patterson also has experience as a running back and wide receiver, and during an appearance on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly said the Steelers could give Patterson a role on offense.
“Maybe we were totally overlooking the role Cordarrelle Patterson might play in this offense. They’re not paying him two years, $6 million just to return one kick per game. They have to have other thoughts in mind with him. And I don’t know where that is. I don’t if that will be somewhere out of the backfield, third downs, whether it’s somewhere in the passing game,” Kaboly said. “So he might be a little wild card.”
Playing under Arthur Smith with the Falcons the last three seasons, Patterson had 347 carries for 1,494 yards and 14 touchdowns while also catching 82 balls for 708 yards and six touchdowns. Most of that production came in his first two years, as in 2023 he had just 50 carries for 181 yards and nine receptions for 38 yards. Still, given his history as a runner and a receiver and Pittsburgh’s lack of talent at receiver, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team had a broader role in the offense in mind for Patterson.
The Steelers are still likely going to look to make a more significant add to their receiver room, but if they don’t, they’ve cobbled together enough depth to at least be passable, especially if Patterson plays a role. Given that Arthur Smith rarely runs three-wide receiver sets in his offense, Pittsburgh could manage with what it has now, although it certainly isn’t ideal.
One thing I will say is it’s likely that Patterson returns more than one kick a game with the hybrid kickoff rule, so even though his contract might be a little rich for a return-specific role, he’s going to be useful in that regard as one of the best returners in NFL history. But it’s certainly possible that the team has a broader role in mind too, and he can get touches in the run game along with Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris or line up wide at receiver and function in that role. At 6-2 and 220 pounds, Patterson could be that bigger outside receiver the Steelers are lacking, and he would certainly be an interesting option in that capacity.
