Player: WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: While he doesn’t have to worry about his job, Cordarrelle Patterson ought to worry about his hamstrings. The Pittsburgh Steelers running back/kick returner is beginning training camp on the Non-Football Injury List due to a hamstring injury. He reportedly suffered the injury during training in the offseason—after saying he wasn’t in shape in OTAs.
Remember that time shortly before the break, roughly a month ago, when Cordarrelle Patterson rated his conditioning? He gave himself a two on a scale up to 10, and if my math is on, that isn’t very good. He said this was common for him and that he uses the break to get into football shape, but that comes with risks.
We can’t say anything definitively, but Patterson’s hamstring injury being a byproduct of his conditioning wouldn’t be a surprise. He is a professional, and he has done this for a long time, but the body only ever ages. It takes more to recuperate as you get older, and soft-tissue injuries are par for the course for inconsistent conditioning.
The Steelers signed Cordarrelle Patterson this offseason to a two-year, $6 million contract to return kicks, hoping to exploit the NFL’s new kickoff rule. But in order for him to take advantage of the opportunity, he needs to be available.
Granted, we are merely talking about the very first day of training camp, and there is a long way to go. The Steelers could activate Patterson any day, although we don’t know what his timeline is. Head coach Mike Tomlin did not sound overly worried about his conditioning for what it’s worth.
There is a concern here, though, precisely because of the changes in the rule. While the Steelers can use Calvin Austin III to practice the new kickoff in the meantime, Patterson can’t get a feel for it himself unless he is doing it. And the Steelers are paying him to be that kick returner, so the sooner he gets to do his job, the better for everyone, especially for himself.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
