The offseason dream has been swept away by the harshness of reality, as the only leap Cordarrelle Patterson made this year has been backwards.
Sunday's 31-13 Vikings win over the Carolina Panthers marked the apex of disappointment for Patterson's season. The receiver didn't play an offensive snap until the second play of the second half. It was a halfhearted effort on a screen that fell incomplete, his only target of the game. Patterson played just three snaps the entire contest, per Pro Football Focus.
While the second-year wideout didn't explicitly say he was frustrated, he sure sounds like he is, per The Star Tribune.
"The things I want to say are not going to be said," Patterson said about his role. "You have to talk to coach (Mike) Zimmer about that and the offensive coordinator (Norv Turner). That is their decision, and I stand behind them."
Zimmer said after the game that Patterson didn't play the first half because he missed practice time due to a funeral.
Patterson said he doesn't know if the coaching staff is looking for more from him.
"I really don't know. But if you find out let me know," he told reporters. "Let's see how this week goes and if it isn't going like I want to, I'll step up and have a conversation with them."
When he was on the field Sunday, Patterson didn't look interested. He didn't attack the ball on the screen play that was defended well. On one kick return he appeared to lack his normal tenacity in returning everything, allowing it to hop in front of him and squirt through the end zone.
A rough season is getting choppier for the young player we thought would play a huge role under Turner. How he handles it down the stretch will be telling for his career.
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