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The Steelers’ Cordarrelle Patterson rambles past the Bengals’ Germaine Pratt in the second quarter Sunday Dec. 1, 2024 at Paycor Stadium. The Steelers’ Cordarrelle Patterson rambles past the Bengals’ Germaine Pratt in the second quarter Sunday Dec. 1, 2024 at Paycor Stadium.
Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
RB/KR CORDARRELLE PATTERSON
Experience/age: 13th season, 34 years old
Contract status: $3.75 million cap hit if he makes the team, will become an unrestricted free agent in 2026
The past: Patterson appeared in 13 games in his first season with the Steelers, missing four in a row in the first half of the season because of an ankle injury. He totaled 16 carries in his final nine games, and he did not play a single offensive snap in the playoff loss at Baltimore.
Signed to provide a splash in the kickoff game in the wake of the “dynamic” return rules enacted by the NFL, Patterson was unable to display the form that made him one of the league’s most featured return specialists.
Owner of a record nine career kickoff returns for a touchdown, Patterson didn’t come close to breaking one with the Steelers and totaled a career-low 21.8 yards per return. He had just 11 returns for the regular season. His longest return was 33 yards.
Patterson was one of several offensive players who followed Arthur Smith to the Steelers after having success when he was the head coach in Atlanta. Patterson totaled more than 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2021, and he had a career-high 694 rushing yards in 2022. His carries, though, dwindled to 50 in 2023 and 32 last year with the Steelers.
2025 outlook: Patterson is a likely cap casualty before the start of the season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he is cut before training camp. The Steelers will save $2.8 million against the cap if Patterson is released.
Patterson did not attend organized team activities, and he wasn’t on the field for mandatory minicamp practices, although he was at the practice facility for at least part of the three-day session.
With the NFL tweaking the kickoff rules again, Patterson could get another chance to show he can adapt to the changes. But the Steelers have at least three other running backs ahead of him on the roster in Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson and Kenny Gainwell. A fourth running back, Trey Sermon, has NFL experience, which weighs against Patterson earning a roster spot.
Warren also had a high kickoff return average (25.2 yards) on just two fewer return opportunities than Patterson.