Atlanta Falcons should make the easy decision with Cordarrelle Patterson

Cordarrelle Patterson’s future is the toughest decision facing the Atlanta Falcons early on this off-season. On one hand, how can you consider parting with a player who outplayed his contract and was often the sole source of the Atlanta offense?

On the other, you have to consider the Falcons are in a tough cap situation and Patterson is coming off of a career year. Still, Patterson’s energy and love for Atlanta shouldn’t be lost without a fight. His ability to create offense from the backfield, out wide, or on a kick return is simply too valuable to lose. Matt Ryan needs a veteran like Patterson who has a chance to break a big play any time he touches the ball.

If you’re the Atlanta Falcons you’re heading into the 2022 season without one clear playmaker on the roster and sitting in a wide-open division. Even if you manage to acquire other options in the draft and in free agency Patterson brings a unique skill set you aren’t going to find elsewhere and most importantly a player who already understands the offense.

Despite the jump, the Atlanta Falcons would have to pay Patterson, it is deserved after he outperformed his first contract in Atlanta

At the end of the day, football is a business full of business decisions that the players often seem to be unfairly held accountable for. Teams are applauded for bargain contracts while players are often frowned upon when they demand market value. The business approach works for a nameless front office but when it is a player demanding a fair contract it isn’t often met with the same response.

Paying Patterson what the market demands is a risky venture but it is a risk the Falcons have to take. After Patterson overperformed the contract Atlanta gave him in the 2021 off-season he has earned a large pay jump and a better contract.

Rarely in the last decade has a player been as loud about his love for a city and team as Patterson has about the Atlanta Falcons. A fact that has endeared him to a long-suffering Atlanta fanbase. He put his talk into action with 11-touchdowns and well over 1,000-scrimmage yards in an impressive season.

Patterson was one of the few bright spots on a bad team, a player that gave Atlanta fans a reason to show up at the stadium and watch from home. Something this roster has been lacking for the last two years. As big of a risk as it might be Atlanta should make the only logical choice and pay the man.  It is a gamble they won’t regret for a player who if brought back is going to take another step forward in Arthur Smith’s offense next season.