The Pittsburgh Steelers recently agreed to terms with Cordarrelle Patterson and inked him to a two-year contract. With the new kickoff rules, Patterson is expected to be a serious threat, just like he was with every other team he has played for. However, in the offseason, there are other ways to endear yourself to a fan base.
By signing with a new team, there are a lot of little housekeeping things that need to be done. One of them is picking a number. Patterson has worn 84 all throughout his career, but instead of sticking with that, he chose to get the fan base's opinion on what he should wear next.
Despite being listed as a running back, all of Patterson's choices are numbers that are associated with wide receivers more often, even though Patterson was listed as a wide receiver early on in his career. None of the numbers that are available have been very notable as of late. The most notable number that's available to switch to is 18, which was previously worn by a very disgruntled Diontae Johnson.
Steelers Have Some History With Patterson's Number
While none of the possible new numbers are very notable, his current number is. 84 was previously worn by a little-known receiver named Antonio Brown. Brown didn't do too much in Pittsburgh besides rack up six straight 1,000-yard seasons, break numerous records, and play like the best receiver in football for at least half of his career.
The Steelers have a history of "soft retiring" numbers, which means they won't officially hang the number up in the stadium, but they won't let anyone else wear it. The Steelers would have most likely soft-retired Brown's number, but his destructive actions since his time in Pittsburgh have kept the number available. 84 was recently worn by Rico Bussey Jr. when he was on the Steelers' preseason roster.
No matter what Patterson chooses for his number, it's safe to say that Steelers fans are excited to see what he can do on the field. It doesn't matter if he takes Brown's old number, Johnson's old number, or any other number, as long as he is the special teams threat that he is advertised to be. The team has had some previous problems with former All-Pro returners, so hopefully this one provides that boost. Patterson has returned 273 kickoffs in his career, with a total of 9 touchdowns.
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