Cordarrelle Patterson, the electric athlete who tantalized in his rookie season but never became a polished pass-catcher in purple, signed with the Raiders on Monday night.
The Vikings in 2013 traded a fistful of draft picks to the Patriots in order to get back into the first round to snag Patterson at No. 29 overall. The bold move paid off that season, as the rookie scored nine total touchdowns and earned first-team All-Pro honors as a kickoff returner.
Many national analysts predicted a breakout season for Patterson in 2014. But it never came. And by the middle of that season, Patterson was benched. He caught only two passes for 10 yards in 2015 before finally working his way back into the mix on offense last season.
The 25-year-old would record a career-high 52 receptions in 2016 for 453 yards and a pair of touchdowns. And after another strong season as a kickoff returner, Patterson was selected to his second Pro Bowl.
His bounce-back season made him receptive to returning to the Vikings. But they let him reach free agency. And after visiting Washington and Chicago and then using social media to push for a return to Minnesota, Patterson agreed to take his talents to Oakland.
In his four seasons with the Vikings, Patterson, who was breathtaking with the ball in the open field but lacked an attention to detail before the ball got there, recorded 132 catches for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 333 yards and four more scores.
Patterson led the NFL in kickoff return average in three of four seasons.
