The Pittsburgh Steelers have lots of soul searching to do after a brutal loss on Thursday Night Football where the offense was stuck in quicksand for most of the game. The competition will not get any easier for the Steelers, as they are entering the heart of their gauntlet. They still have four more divisional games, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on the docket. Changes will have to be made if they want to take the AFC North crown and even win a playoff game.
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Steelers' Cordarrelle Patterson gets tackled while playing the Baltimore Ravens in 2024.
During his weekly Q&A chat, Brian Batko was asked about letting Cordarrelle Patterson loose. While that may not be the big change that the Steelers are looking for, he agreed that it may be time to move on.
"Yes, unless there's an injury in the backfield. He surprised me in the Colts game and even his long run in the Detroit preseason game, but as much as I like the guy and appreciate his career, it might be a wrap for him. I'm not sure what skill set he provides at this stage of his career."
Patterson was initially signed to be a return man that could take advantage of the new kickoff rules. He would also act as a depth piece at running back and maybe wide receiver if needed. He was never meant to be someone that the team relied on a lot on offense, as his generational return abilities were supposed to be his main contribution to the team.
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Steelers lost Cordarrelle Patterson to injury against the Colts.
However, teams across the league have opted to take the touchback, as opposed to letting teams return kicks against them. That is especially true for the Steelers, as Patterson has only returned five kickoffs throughout the seven games that he has played in so far. It's hard for him to break a return for a touchdown when the ball always goes out the back of the end zone.
On those five returns, Patterson has 95 total yards, with his longest being just 25 yards. This is nothing new to him, as he had just seven returns in 2023, as well as nine in 2022. Teams are afraid of giving him any chance to chase down Devin Hester's records, and nothing seems to be changing there.
With that in mind, he needs to be more productive on offense. He currently has 27 total touches for 138 yards. Those kinds of numbers were expected, but he was supposed to have big kick return stats to go with them. The Steelers attempted to hit him for a two-point conversion against the Cleveland Browns, which failed and had everyone scratching their heads at the play call.
Sebastian Foltz / Post-Gazette
Steelers' Cordarrelle Patterson running with the ball during OTAs.
Should Steelers Actually Make This Move?
Even with all those struggles, what would losing Patterson do for the Steelers? He would be replaced with a practice squad-level running back / kick returner that may or may not be less skilled than him. Sure, he has not been the sudden boom that everyone was expecting, but what does that accomplish?
Cutting Patterson would save $2.8 million in 2025, so maybe it's done in the offseason if the Steelers feel like they could use that extra cap space on another need. Even though Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will almost share all of the carries, it does not hurt to keep a third string back that has a history of being hard to chase down.
There are some concerns about his ankle after he injured it against the Indianapolis Colts. If that is the reason for his struggles, he may just need to be inactive and let it heal up some more. If he doesn't, then he will end up getting cut in the offseason for failing a physical. He will be 34 in 2025, so he has to stay healthy if he wants to stick around for at least another year.
What do you think about Patterson potentially being cut? Let us know in the comments.
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