The Curious Case of Cordarrelle Patterson

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Dec 15, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings (15) celebrates with wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (84) during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Eagles 48-30. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Patterson Still has Support in the Locker Room

When someone is as talented as Cordarrelle Patterson, and has not made mistakes off of the field, it is impossible to give up on him this soon. The Vikings have not.

Greg Jennings sounds like someone fully in Patterson’s corner. While speaking to reporters after beating the Bears Sunday, he said, “As long as I’m here, (Patterson) will not fail.” Before the season began, Jennings also said, “I told (Patterson) this, and maybe it was a little premature, but I told him, ‘At some point, I’m going to tell my kids I played with Cordarrelle Patterson.'” Clearly, Jennings knows a thing or two about the wide receiver position, believes highly in Patterson’s talent, and is at least saying he will do whatever he can to make Patterson better.

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Coach Zimmer has certainly seemed irritated by all of the questions about Cordarrelle this year, and it is hard to blame him. As unexpected as it was, Patterson did not make a large impact on most games this year, so there really was not much to talk about. That said, it is still in Zimmer’s best interest for Patterson to succeed and he seems like he cares. In November, Zimmer said this about Patterson:

"“He does some very, very good things and then some things that you don’t like as much. I don’t think disappointed is the right word. I think youth might be right word,” Zimmer said, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I believe that he’s going to be a really good player, but everybody is impatient, including me, and I’m sure he is, too. It will come. It just may take a while.”"

Also, as Nick wrote about recently, Zimmer said, “I’ve got a plan for this offseason for him, hopefully it works. But it’s going to be up to Cordarrelle. I’ll leave it at that.” Additionally, according to Ben Goessling of ESPN, Zimmer has found an unnamed personal instructor for Patterson to work with him in the offseason.

The Vikings have not given up on Patterson, as long as he is willing to put in the work necessary to succeed. Hopefully, he has not given up on himself.

Next: What's Next For Patterson?

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