Cordarrelle Patterson played with the emotions of Minnesota Vikings fans with an April Fools’ prank.
It is the first day of April, which means sports news consumers have to tread lightly on social media. “Reports” may not be reports at all, instead being April Fools’ pranks. There have been some NFL athletes to mess around with fans with jokes, and the latest to join them is free agent wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.
On Thursday, Patterson tweeted out that he was making a return to the Minnesota Vikings, the team that drafted him in 2013. He followed up with another tweet 26 minutes later, saying he forgot it was April Fools’ Day.
Cordarrelle Patterson jokes about return to Vikings on April Fools’ Day
Patterson has recently been hinting about where he would sign as a free agent. Just last week, the wide receiver/kick returner was liking social media posts about him potentially signing with the Green Bay Packers.
Back in 2013, the Vikings selected Patterson out of Tennessee with the 29th overall pick. Patterson spent four seasons in Minnesota, where he was named to the Pro Bowl twice and honored as a First-Team All-Pro on two occasions (2013, 2016). Overall, Patterson recorded 132 catches for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for 333 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. But most of the damage Patterson provided was in the return game, where he took 134 kicks for 4,075 yards and five scores.
After leaving the Vikings, Patterson spent one season with the now-Las Vegas Raiders, one campaign with the eventual Super Bowl 53 champion New England Patriots and the past two years with the Chicago Bears.
This past season with the Bears, Patterson led the league in kick returns (35), return yards (1,017), touchdowns (one) and longest return (104 yards). Additionally, Patterson caught 21-of-25 targets for 132 yards, while rushing for 232 yards and one score on 64 carries.
Patterson may be on the open market now, but a team looking to boost their return game will definitely look to secure his services.