As former Patriots players and coaches write their own David Patten obituary on social media, it’s clear he left an impact that went beyond football.
New England Patriots legend David Patten, who won three Super Bowls with the dynasty, died suddenly at the age of 47.
Patten’s career is fused in NFL history thanks in large part to his pivotal role in helping start the Patriots dynasty. He isn’t the headline act when remembering the dynasty but he deserves an immense amount of credit for being part of the foundation on which it rests.
Look back at the start of the Patriots dynasty and Patten’s fingerprints are all over it. He was on the receiving end of Tom Brady’s first postseason touchdown pass, and he was the reason the Patriots were even in a position to make the Tuck Rule so infamous.
On that AFC Divisional Round Game, Patten went for 103 yards in the snow, which amounted to almost 65 percent of the Patriots 159 total passing yards in that game. On October 21, 2001 he became the first player since 1979 to catch, run and throw for a TD all in the same game.
Simply put, Patten was the prototypical ‘Patriot Way’ player whom all others after him were modeled.
David Patten obituary: Ex-Patriots pay their respect on social media
Ex-Patriots from years past, as well as writers who have covered Patten, took to social media to remember him.
https://twitter.com/damienwoody/status/1433800200741658637
Heartbroken to hear about the passing of David Patten. Beyond being a core player on our @Patriots championships, he represented all that was good.
— Scott Pioli (@scottpioli51) September 3, 2021
Hard to articulate the impact he had on our locker room and all of us around him. He was a TRUE champion... Godspeed 🙏🏼🙏🏾🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/HuD1BTXVvT
heartbroken 💔 great man of God… lost for words - David Patten… 🙏 pic.twitter.com/DOMWJqjoBv
— Richard Seymour (@BigSey93) September 3, 2021
https://twitter.com/deionbranch84/status/1433797326376685569?s=20
Shocked and saddened about the sudden tragic death of David Patten. Excellent player, even better person. Family guy, team guy, devout Christian. Prayers all directed this way. RIP David. You will be sorely missed.
— Charlie Weis (@charlieweissr) September 3, 2021
Thinking back about David Patten, he was such a vital cog in first Super Bowl run. He had eight catches in the Snow Bowl game. He caught a TD from Drew Bledsoe in the AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh. And, he caught one from Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. He was clutch. RIP
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) September 3, 2021
RIP David Patten. The Patriots don’t beat the Raiders without him (103 of their 153 passing yards in the snow) and don’t win the Super Bowl without this catch: pic.twitter.com/KtGyQ2mroS
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) September 3, 2021
I gravitate towards individuals with heart,toughness, energy, positivity. That was David Patten, who we signed as a UFA in 2005 while I was with WFT. It SUCKS when men/women like this are taken from us too soon man…Condolences to all that knew and/or loved him. pic.twitter.com/PzDpe6uLYd
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) September 3, 2021
David Patten does it all as Patriots rout Colts https://t.co/kbmFliumNM. A story on David Patten’s monumental Week 6 game against the Colts written by another wonderful person gone too soon, Nick Cafardo.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) September 3, 2021
No cause of death was made public when the announcement of Patten’s death was revealed. with the Patriots set to play next Sunday, chances are the tributes won’t end with what we’ve seen today and will extend to fans, players, and the franchise as a whole during Week 1’s festivities.