The Minnesota Vikings might have no idea who is starting at the running back position Week 1, but they are very confident in their group of wide receivers entering the new season. With Teddy Bridgewater preparing to enter his first season and a full-time starter, Minnesota has done all they can to surround the quarterback with talent acorss the field. While that no longer includes veteran Greg Jennings, it will continue to include Cordarrelle Patterson despite his struggles so far in his career.
Patterson's place on the team has come under fire after another underwhelming season that left coaches questioning his effort on the field and knowledge of the offense. Minnesota drafted the versatile receiver to be their No. 1 downfield threat and Patterson has simply not developed into that type of player, getting benched late last season. However, the Vikings are making it clear the receiver is not getting traded as a result.
"No, no chance whatsoever," head coach Mike Zimmer said, via 1500ESPN.com. "Cordarrelle is a young, emerging player who was with his third coordinator in three years. Quite frankly, we need to do a good job of figuring out how we can use him better and he needs to understand where he's supposed to be, the routes and everything. He's going to play good football for us. He's a first-round pick for a reason, and he's going to be very successful for us going forward."
Zimmer admitted that Patterson has frustrated him at times as he struggled to get open on the field and make plays. However, the coaching staff is making it clear that they are fully invested in the potential of Patterson even after he was benched in favor of Charles Johnson. The Vikings did add Mike Wallace via a trade in order to get a big playmaker on the roster while they wait for Patterson to reach his potential, but that is not an indication that the receiver is headed elsewhere.
The Vikings need all the playmakers they can get simply because no one is completely certain what will happen with Adrian Peterson. The running back does not want to play for the Vikings, according to his agent, but Minnesota is not prepared to release him. Zimmer made it clear that he fully expects Peterson to return to the team and be a starter in 2015.
"I think everyone knows how I feel about Adrian," Zimmer said, via PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio. "I respect him from the day I met him as a football player and everything else. He's done so many good things as a community and the state of Minnesota for the Twin Cities. Really, we are just looking forward to getting him back and getting back with his teammates and playing for us. I can't speculate on what other people say. All I know is how I feel and where we feel as an organization."
