The Steelers are set to pay Cordarrelle Patterson $2.8 million this year; Mike DeFabo is one of many asking why. After he failed as a kick returner last season—the reason they signed him—what value does he offer? Pittsburgh largely turned over its running back room since last season, so where does he fit?
In assessing the Steelers’ offensive roster, DeFabo wrote about each player, and his blurb on Cordarrelle Patterson was rather direct. “Why haven’t the Steelers cut him yet?”, he wrote for The Athletic. “[Arthur] Smith has a soft spot for the once-great return man, but the offensive coordinator didn’t even mention Patterson when talking about the running backs group during the offseason”.
According to some reports, Patterson was not even on the field with the Steelers this spring. While he may have been in the building to some extent, it’s possible he didn’t actively participate. If that is the case, of course, it’s unclear what that means or why he didn’t practice. There could be any number of legitimate reasons, such as a minor injury.
If Patterson is dealing with an injury that would support DeFabo’s premise, too. He is near the end of his career, and his body is wearing down. We saw that last season. Whenever he didn’t look slow, he only had a few reps in before injuring himself. Whether on kick returns or elsewhere, the Steelers need better than that.
Earlier this offseason, Alex Kozora offered a defense of Cordarrelle Patterson, which was generous of him. Even so, it is still difficult to picture exactly where he fits in at this point. The Steelers essentially replaced him in the running back room with Kenneth Gainwell, on whom they are high.
At the end of the day, can the Steelers get almost $3 million worth of value out of Patterson? Realistically, if the Steelers were to release him, would anybody else sign him? At 34 years old, he showed no aptitude for returning kicks any longer. Beyond that, he didn’t do anything particularly special on offense. He even managed to fumble among his 44 touches for the Steelers last season, which isn’t what you want.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Steelers cut him and then re-signed him later in the offseason on a Veteran Salary Benefit deal. I just don’t know that there would be a market for Cordarrelle Patterson’s services right now. It would be far from the first time that an aging veteran’s last stop proved to be a layover in Pittsburgh.
