Cordarrelle Patterson in Free Agency: Does Falcons’ Arthur Blank Offer More than 'Hope'?

"He's a terrific young man. He's great with the fans. He's great in the locker room," team owner Arthur Blank says of CP. "He's a real competitor. … I hope that he'll be a Falcon this time [next] year."

Hope, as the saying goes, is not a plan.

Ideally, when it comes to re-signing Cordarelle Patterson, the Atlanta Falcons have both.

"He's a terrific young man. He's great with the fans. He's great in the locker room," team owner Arthur Blank said. "He's a real competitor. … I hope that he'll be a Falcon this time [next] year."

CP has campaigned hard to return to Atlanta via free agency, and his approach is one that is endearing him even more to a fan base that in many cases views him as a “must” signing.

Blank, whose Falcons got a steal with Patterson’s a one-year contract worth $3 million last April, gets it.

"From our standpoint, we'd love to have him back," Blank said, via the team web site. "We saw the same thing that you saw on the field. I think this is a very talented player, a very talented athlete.”

Patterson put up career-highs in rushing (618) and receiving (548) yards, giving him a team-best 1,166 yards from scrimmage, with new  Falcons coach Arthur Smith utilizing him as so much more than just a Pro Bowl return man.

This offense - and CP himself, of course - reinvented Patterson, as he was everywhere for a Falcons team that out of nowhere got 153 carries from him.

"You'd be a fool to not want to play for Art, especially this year with the foundation that he's been building and the chemistry that he's building with these guys in this locker room on and off the field," Patterson said. For a guy like me, I'd be a fool to not want to play for Art next year."

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

He’s 30 as he becomes an unrestricted free agent this spring. The dollars are still going to need to be right. But both sides are certainly saying the proper things.

“This,” Blank said. “is a good example of when a coach understands the scheme -- which he does, Coach Smith … takes an athlete like this and can use him in a variety of ways I think you see the kind of production that he can have."

The offense has a plan for Patterson. We’re about to see if the front office has more than “hope.”