Phil Perry reveals which free agent receivers aren’t exactly high on the Patriots wish list at the moment
Cordarrelle Patterson had a career year for the Falcons in 2021, so it's not too surprising that Atlanta reportedly is bringing him back on a two-year, $10.5 million contract.
But did one of Patterson's former employers make a push for the running back/wide receiver/return specialist before the Falcons locked him up?
CLNS Media's Evan Lazar reported Saturday that the Patriots had discussions with Patterson -- who spent the 2018 season with New England -- about returning to Foxboro in free agency. In a since-deleted tweet, Lazar wrote that the talks stalled because the Patriots weren't willing to meet Patterson's asking price.
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If you ask Patterson, though, those discussions with the Patriots never happened. The nine-year veteran responded to Lazar's tweet before it was taken down to deny that New England contacted him.
Lazar followed up to clarify that the Patriots put in a "brief inquiry" with Patterson's camp, but that discussions were "minimal."
It's possible both Patterson and Lazar are right. New England could have simply checked in with Patterson's agent about an asking price for the veteran offensive weapon, and if the team wasn't willing to pay that price, Patterson's agent may not have felt the need to relay that information to his client.
According to his Twitter account, Patterson seemed pretty hell-bent on returning to Atlanta anyway.
Patterson and the Falcons certainly seem like a good match after the 31-year-old racked up 1,166 all-purpose yards (618 rushing, 548 receiving) with 11 total touchdowns for Atlanta last season.
As for the Patriots? It appears they're still shopping in the discount aisle of NFL free agency. The team reportedly added dual-threat running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery on a modest two-year deal worth up to $4 million but has yet to make any major additions on offense.
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