There's another three-time Super Bowl champion at Redskins Park.
Free agent wide receiver David Patten has agreed to terms on a contract with the Redskins, the team announced on Thursday evening. Patten has helped the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl championships in the last four years; of course, Joe Gibbs and several of his coaches also have three Super Bowl rings from their previous tenure with the Redskins.
Patten was at Redskins Park on Thursday afternoon and is expected to sign his contract on Friday morniing.
The 5-10, 190 pounder is an experienced and productive receiver who has the speed and work ethic to bolster the team's receiving corps.
An eight-year NFL veteran, he has started 58-of-112 games with 236 catches for 3,519 yards and 20 touchdowns. He played four seasons in New England (2001-04), one in Cleveland (2000) and his first three seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants (1997-99).
Patten has played the best football of his career with the Patriots, appearing in 58 games with 44 starts and catching 165 passes for 2,513 yards and 15 touchdowns during his tenure in New England.
Last season, Patten caught 44 passes for 800 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns. His 18.2 yards-per-catch average was also a career high.
In 2003, Patten appeared in six games with five starts before landing on injured reserve. In 2002, he led all Patriots receivers with five touchdown receptions and set career-highs in receptions (61) and receiving yards (824).
Patten's first season in New England was in 2001. That year, he became the first player in Patriots' franchise history and only the sixth player in the NFL since 1960 to record a touchdown pass, touchdown reception and rush for a touchdown in one game (at Indianapolis). During that game, he was also on the receiving end of the longest play from scrimmage in Patriots history when he caught a 91-yard pass from quarterback Tom Brady.
Prior to signing with the Patriots, Patten spent the 2000 season with the Cleveland Browns and was with the New York Giants from 1997-1999. During his career, he has also excelled as a kickoff return specialist with 109 returns for 2,253 yards.
A four-year letterman at Western Carolina, Patten finished his career tied for ninth on the school's career touchdown pass reception list with 14. During his senior year, he ranked among the nation's top-10 receivers with 59 catches for 881 yards and received All-Southern Conference honors. Following his collegiate career in 1996, he played for the Albany Firebirds of the AFL.
For the Redskins, Patten is likely the first of several acquisitions at the wide receiver position this offseason. Both of last season's starters, Rod Gardner and Laveranues Coles, headed into the offseason with a some uncertainty as to whether they would return to Washington.
The team has given Gardner permission to seek a trade and head coach Joe Gibbs has said that Coles may also be on the trading block, although it's possible that Coles will remain a Redskin next season.
