Minnesota Vikings Bench Cordarrelle Patterson For Charles Johnson

By Bryan Rose | Dec 4, 2014

Oct 26, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (84) returns a kickoff as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-13 in overtime at Raymond James Stadium. Patterson had a game-high 86 yards receiving. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports /

The Minnesota Vikings have decided to bench wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson in favor of Charles Johnson.

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Has the Cordarrelle Patterson era for the Minnesota Vikings already concluded? While it seems a bit premature to suggest such right now, the uber talented though struggling wide receiver will find himself benched this week.

That’s the word from ESPN.com who cites Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner as stating that Charles Johnson will take over the “X” receiver role moving forward, leaving Cordarrelle Patterson on the pine.

“CJ is playing at a high level,” Turner said, per ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling. “CJ is the starter at X. That’s the position Cordarrelle plays. We’re going to do what we can to give him some opportunities to play there, but CJ’s playing at a real high level right now.”

Patterson missed practice for the Minnesota Vikings in preparation for Week 13 with a family matter though missing time didn’t apparently factor into the decision, but rather his poor play. Meanwhile Johnson has become an offensive threat for the Minnesota Vikings and leads the team in targets with 22 over his past three games. More importantly, he’s producing with those targets, something Cordarrelle Patterson was struggling to do.

So the biggest question remains – is the benching permananet? Well, it doesn’t sound as if there is a answer for such. The Vikings are likely leaving that decision up to Cordarrelle Patterson himself. If he can play well in the next week or two perhaps he’ll be promoted back into the starting lineup. If not, it looks like he’ll be fighting for a starting gig next season in camp just like every other wide receiver on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

Certainly a fall from grace for the former first-round draft pick.

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