Relief for Vikings as Patterson’s Injury is Likely Minor
Adam Patrick
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Breaths were held after Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson left the team’s first training camp practice yesterday with an unspecified injury. Luckily, it does not seem to be a bad as some people had speculated.
The young Vikings receiver is expected to recover from this minor setback rather quickly. This is good news for both Minnesota and Patterson, who has received plenty of praise this offseason for the improvement he has been showing on the field as a receiver.
This is an important year for Patterson, who has yet to live up to the expectations he was given in 2013 when the Vikings selected him in the first round of the NFL Draft. Minnesota opted to not pick up the receiver’s fifth-year option this offseason, so this could potentially be his last season in purple.
After a thrilling rookie season in which Patterson scored nine touchdowns, he has only had two offensive touchdowns in the past two seasons combined. The last time he caught a touchdown pass was back in Week 7 of 2014 when Minnesota fell to the Buffalo Bills 17-16.
That is 27 straight weeks without an offensive touchdown if anyone is counting.
Although Patterson has continued to produce and score touchdowns as a kick returner during his NFL career, the Vikings did not draft him to return kicks. They drafted him to catch passes.
If he does not pan out as a wide receiver in 2016, the player known as ‘Flash’ may have to take his talents elsewhere next season.