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Cordarrelle Patterson

NFC Notes: Cousins, Brees, Patterson, Graham

September 25th, 2015 at 6:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Prior to winning Washington’s starting quarterback job this year, Kirk Cousins had trouble taking care of the football as a backup from 2012-14, throwing 19 interceptions in parts of 14 games. Those issues have carried into this season, as Cousins has tossed four picks in the first three games for his 1-2 team. Despite that, he’s not in danger of losing his job to backups Colt McCoy or Robert Griffin III, head coach Jay Gruden said Friday.

“There’s too many good things going on with Kirk and his progression for us to pull the plug right now because he threw an interception or two,” said Gruden, according to The Associated Press. “But he’s got to be aware and he’s got to protect the football – as does Matt Jones, as does the rest of our football team – for us to have a chance.”

“We’re hoping that a more mature Kirk Cousins will bounce back from these performances,” Gruden added.

To his credit, Cousins has shown an ability to bounce back from a less-than-stellar showing this year. After a subpar Week 1 performance in a 17-10 loss to Miami, Cousins responded by going 23 of 27 for 203 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers in Washington’s 24-10 win over the Rams last Sunday. He’ll be tasked with trying to get off the mat in Week 4 against the Eagles after Thursday night’s two-pick output in a 32-21 loss to the Giants.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • The winless Saints aren’t Super Bowl contenders this year and probably won’t be next season, and Drew Brees will be a 37-year-old set to count $27.4MM against their salary cap in 2016. That doesn’t mean they should let Brees go, writes ESPN’s Mike Triplett, who opines that parting with the nine-time Pro Bowler without an obvious successor would be foolish. Triplett believes Brees and the Saints will eventually agree to an extension to keep him in New Orleans beyond 2016, the last year of his current contract.
  • Given his status as a first-round pick in 2013, Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson‘s production during the first two years of his career was underwhelming (78 catches, 800-plus yards, five touchdowns). Now the Vikings seem to be phasing Patterson out of their game plan, as he has just one reception and, unlike the prior two seasons, hasn’t been a factor on returns. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old remains upbeat. “I really can’t control what goes on,” Patterson said, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today. “Whatever the coaches are going for, you’€™ve got to stick to their plan and just keep trying to get better.”
  • Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham is similar to Patterson in that his production is down this year. And, like Patterson, he’s not worried. “This team runs the ball. Simple as that,” said Graham, according to ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia. “We’re not slinging the ball 60 times a game. And if we are, then that means we’re in trouble. I’m just going to keep doing what’s asked of me.” Graham – who averaged 89 catches, 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns per season with the Saints from 2011-14 – is on pace for 56 grabs, 496 yards and eight TDs in his first year in Seattle.

NFC Mailbags: Cardinals, Bucs, Vikings, Saints

June 27th, 2015 at 12:44pm CST by Ben Levine

We checked out ESPN.com’s AFC mailbags earlier this morning. Let’s now shift focus to the NFC…

  • Josh Weinfuss believes Cardinals offensive lineman Ted Larsen, Earl Watford, Bradley Sowell and Bobby Massie could be moved because of the depth at their positions.
  • The Buccaneers have been active in their spot atop the waiver wire, claiming Tim Wright and D.J. Swearinger. Pat Yasinskas says the team could make five or six more claims before the start of the season.
  • If running back Doug Martin has a big season, Yasinskas thinks there’s a good chance he’d re-sign with the Buccaneers.
  • 2018 is the earliest the Vikings would have to invest a longterm contract into a quarterback, writes Ben Goessling. That means that team shouldn’t have an issue signing their younger core players, including Harrison Smith, Matt Kalil and Xavier Rhodes. The one player that the writer could see the organization move on from is wideout Cordarrelle Patterson.
  • Mike Triplett says it’s “safe to assume” that Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan can’t survive another bad season. If the defense continues to struggle, defensive assistant Dennis Allen could also receive part of the blame.

North Notes: Steelers, Cutler, Patterson

March 25th, 2015 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The NFL has informed the Steelers that the seventh-round compensatory pick the team received will actually be a sixth-rounder (Twitter link). The league initially miscommunicated the pick, which will now be the 212nd selection rather than the 252nd (Twitter link). Conversely, the Broncos‘ sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 208) will be bumped down to a seventh-rounder (No. 250), according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter). We’ll update our list of draft picks by round and by team this afternoon to reflect the change.

Let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFL’s two North divisions….

  • According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (all Twitter links), Bears decision-makers, including new head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace, discussed Jay Cutler‘s contract as the guarantee date for more of the QB’s salary neared earlier this offseason. After meeting with Cutler, the Bears’ brass left convinced that he’s their guy going forward.
  • If there was any doubt about the Vikings‘ commitment to wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, head coach Mike Zimmer cleared things up on Tuesday, as Chris Wesseling of NFL.com details. According to Zimmer, there’s “no chance whatsoever” that the team will trade Patterson this year.
  • Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams will visit the Ravens prior to next month’s draft, league sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Lions aren’t pursuing tampering charges against the Dolphins in regard to Miami’s pursuit of Ndamukong Suh prior to the start of this month’s free agent period, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Of course, just because Detroit isn’t pushing for it, that doesn’t mean the league isn’t looking into a potential violation by the Dolphins and other teams who reportedly reached agreements with free agents prior to March 10.

AFC Notes: Spiller, Brown, Patterson

September 10th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Heading into Week 2, Raiders coach Dennis Allen is expecting to see a significant step forward from rookie quarterback Derek Carr, writes Nate Stuhlbarg of CSNBayArea.com. “He’s got a tremendous skill set,” Allen said. “And he’s going to do nothing but get better the more opportunity he gets.” Last week, Carr threw for two touchdowns on 20-of-32 passing accuracy against the Jets. Here’s more from the AFC..

  • We heard yesterday that the Bills and C.J. Spiller‘s reps have discussed a new contract for the running back, but a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (TwitLonger link) that those talks were just “introductory and preliminary” in nature, with no actual numbers exchanged. Still, the club would like to get something done with Spiller before the end of the league year in March.
  • While there had been some hope that linebacker Zach Brown could be placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, it appears he’ll head straight to IR, ending his season, Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said today (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com). With Brown no longer in the mix for this year, the Titans are working out free agent linebacker Justin Staples this Friday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • An explosive wide receiver like Cordarrelle Patterson would look good on the Patriots‘ roster, and New England had an opportunity to draft him in 2013, but ultimately traded the first-round pick for four lower selections. With a matchup against the Vikings on this weekend’s slate, Pats head coach Bill Belichick said today that he has no regrets about the trade that landed Patterson in Minnesota, as Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune details.