Cordarrelle Patterson is in his ninth NFL season and playing for his fifth NFL team, and he’s on his way to the best season of his career. But he says what he’s doing now is easy compared to what his mom did while raising him.
Patterson, who is dividing his time between running back, wide receiver and kickoff returner, told Kris Rhim of AtlantaFalcons.com that his mom taught him what hard work is all about.
“If my mom could go out there and work three jobs, I can go out there and play three positions. Why can’t I do what she did for us?” Patterson said. “It’s like a big motivation, and every time I’m on the field, I don’t care where they put me; I’m gonna make a play. You can put me at safety; I’m getting an interception. You put me at D-End Ima get a sack. That’s just the mindset that I have, and nobody can take that confidence away from me.”
Patterson has 268 rushing yards this season, which is already a career high, plus 333 receiving yards and 267 kickoff return yards. If he keeps up his current pace over 17 games, he’ll finish the season with 651 rushing yards, 809 receiving yards and 648 kickoff return yards. No player in NFL history has ever had that a high total in all three of those categories. Patterson has a good role model for putting in work at three different jobs.