The Atlanta Falcons will be without star running back Cordarrelle Patterson in their Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers, the team announced Sunday morning. Patterson is inactive due to a thigh injury, which initially had him questionable heading into Sunday.
Patterson's injury status isn't too much of a shocker given the prior reports and the elevation of Godwin Igwebuike from the practice squad on Saturday, but it's still an unfortunate result for Arthur Smith and the Falcons. This will leave young quarterback Desmond Ridder without one of his top weapons as they face Carolina.
Patterson has been a revelation as a running back for the Falcons the last two seasons after previous stops with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears. Before his time in Atlanta, he was known more as a superstar kick returner, but the Falcons have used his versatility at running back and have even coined the “Joker” position for him.
In 2021, Patterson broke out in a big way for Atlanta, rushing for 618 yards and hauling in 548 receiving yards while racking up 11 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns in 16 games. While his receiving yardage dipped to 122 last season in 13 games, he still rushed for 695 yards and eight touchdowns.
As good as Patterson has been the past couple of seasons for the Falcons, they stumbled to mediocre 7-10 records in each of Smith's first two years at the helm. The quarterback position has been a problem for them, but they're hoping Ridder will take a step forward in Year 2. Unfortunately, Ridder will have to get started without Cordarrelle Patterson, though he still has weapons such as Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Kyle Pitts and Drake London to work with.
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