Almost immediately following the announcement of the kickoff rule change in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to terms with the most successful kick returner in league history, bringing in Cordarrelle Patterson on a two-year, $6 million contract. The hope is that he can tap into his career success in that role under the new set of rules that will make the play as important as ever for the 2024 season.
The NFL is testing the new rule on a trial basis for this season, so they have built themselves an easy out if the rule change is deemed unsuccessful in some way. With that in mind, it is somewhat interesting that the Steelers opted for a two-year deal with Patterson, especially at 33 years old.
Omar Khan and the Steelers’ front office may have had no way of knowing this at signing, but Patterson doesn’t exactly take the best care of his body during the offseason.
“I’m probably a two outta 10 right now, but when I get to camp, I’ll be an eight outta 10. When camp’s over, I’ll be a 10 outta 10. How about that?” Patterson said during minicamp last week via Post-Gazette Sports on YouTube.
He is certainly honest, I’ll give him that. It sounds like this has been his annual approach, and he has certainly gotten results over the years, but will that continue to work as he battles father time?
According to Fox Sports‘ player injury profile, Patterson has battled an increasing number of injuries over the last few seasons. Over the first eight seasons of his career, he missed just one game. Over the last three seasons, he has missed eight. He was labeled questionable with a hamstring injury over the first three weeks of the 2023 season and ended up missing all three games. Those are the types of soft-tissue injuries that can occur if you put your body through rigorous activity before it is ready.
It is unfair to draw any hard conclusions with a small sample size, but I think it is okay to be concerned with the overall approach at this stage of his career. Training camp is when players make their case for how much (or little) playing time they might get at the start of the season. Patterson isn’t likely to be relied upon on offense in any large way, but that feels even less likely if he is not in top shape.
Entering his 12th year as a pro, he knows his body and what it takes to be prepared better than most, but he is now entering the late stages of his career. It isn’t unreasonable to question if his body is capable of bouncing back like it was in his early- to mid-20s.
“He’s not in the best shape right now, so what he was able to do in the spring, maybe there will be another level he finds next month in training camp,” Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko said via their YouTube channel on the North Shore Drive podcast this morning. “I mean, he looked like a tight end when we saw him here.”
This will be something to watch closely throughout training camp, especially if it is anywhere near as hot as it has been during this recent heat wave. The way Patterson looks at it, “when you feel good, you play good.” He likes to take the offseason to de-stress and spend time with his family. You can’t knock him if it has worked in the past, but will it start to create issues late in his career?
