AP source: Steelers bolster return game by signing Patterson to $6M, 2-year deal
The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing veteran running back/kickoff return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson to a two-year deal.
The contract carries a total value of $6 million, a source with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced.
The versatile 33-year-old Patterson spent the past three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. A four-time All-Pro, Patterson gives the Steelers a veteran to help them adjust to the league’s new kickoff rules designed to produce more returns.
Patterson has nine kickoff returns for a touchdown in his 11-year career with Minnesota, Oakland, New England, Chicago and Atlanta. Patterson has led the league in kickoff return average three times and has seven kickoff returns of 100 yards or more.
Patterson has filled a variety of roles throughout his career. He was a wide receiver and kick returner while playing for the Vikings, Raiders and Patriots. He was used more out of the backfield during stays in Chicago and Atlanta. Patterson ran for more than 600 yards in 2021 and 2022 but saw his role with the Falcons diminish last season behind rookie Bijan Robinson.
RAMS: Former AllPro cornerback Tre’Davious White is joining the Los Angeles Rams.
White agreed to terms on a one-year, $8.5 million contract Tuesday with the Rams, who are thoroughly revamping a secondary that was likely their defense’s weak spot last season. White’s deal could be worth up to $10 million, ESPN reported.
White spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills, who released him earlier this month. White was an AP All-Pro in 2019 and a twotime Pro Bowl selection in Buffalo, but he played in only 10 combined games in the past two seasons due to injury.
LIONS: Cameron Sutton was in the Detroit Lions’ Allen Park training facility when the team learned of a domestic violence warrant issued for the defensive back in Florida.
Lions President Rod Wood told WJBK-TV Fox 2 on Monday that team staffers spoke to Sutton, 29, at the time and advised him to turn himself into authorities.
“We learned about the warrant at the same time everybody else did on social media,” Wood told the station. “We were able to speak to Cam because he was actually in our building. We found him. He was down with our strength staff. He kind of showed up unexpectedly to work out.”
The Lions released Sutton on March 21 after news of the warrant surfaced.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, which includes Tampa, has asked for help in finding Sutton, a seven-year pro who just finished his first season with the Lions and helped them reach the NFC championship game for the first time in 32 years. The warrant is for domestic battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.