David Patten (August 19, 1974 – September 2, 2021) was an American professional
football player who was a
wide receiver in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He was signed by the
Albany Firebirds of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
as a
street free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 1996. Starting in 1997, he played in the NFL and competed for 12 seasons through 2008. He played
college football at
Western Carolina.
Patten was also a member of the
New York Giants,
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
,
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
,
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
and
New England Patriots. He won three
Super Bowls with the Patriots.
Early years
Patten played football at Lower Richland High School in
Hopkins, South Carolina
Hopkins is a census-designated place (CDP) in Richland County, South Carolina, United States, that was founded ''circa'' 1836 and named after John Hopkins(1739-1775). It is located southeast of downtown Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metrop ...
, where he caught passes from future
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
Pokey Reese
Calvin "Pokey" Reese, Jr. (born June 10, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. Reese played with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox, he won the 2004 World Series over the St. Louis ...
.
College career
After graduating from high school, Patten attended
Western Carolina University
Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system.
The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...
. As a junior in 1994, he averaged 3.6 catches, good for sixth in the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...
. In 1995, his senior season, Patten recorded 59 catches for 881 yards and was named to the All-Southern Conference team.
Professional career
Albany Firebirds
Patten went undrafted in the
1996 NFL Draft but began his professional football career by playing for the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's
Albany Firebirds in the summer of 1996. He signed late in the AFL's season and played in their final regular season game on August 2, 1996, in a 54–49 win over the
Milwaukee Mustangs. Patten caught two passes for 37 yards in the game.
New York Giants
After spending the rest of the 1996 season out of football, Patten was signed by the
New York Giants on March 24, 1997. He was waived by the Giants on August 24, 1997, and re-signed to their
practice squad the next day. Two days later, the Giants signed Patten to their 53-man roster. He played in 16 games for the Giants in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
, catching 13 passes for 226 yards and returning eight kickoffs for 123 yards. In 1998, Patten played in 12 games for the Giants, returning 43 kickoffs for 928 yards and one touchdown, while also catching 11 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. In 1999, his final season with the Giants, Patten played in 16 games, leading the team with 33 kickoff returns for 673 yards as well as recording nine receptions for 115 yards.
First stint with Browns
Following the 1999 season, Patten signed as an
unrestricted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...
with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
. He spent one season with the team, starting 10 of 14 games and recording 38 receptions for 546 yards.
First stint with the Patriots
In 2001, Patten signed as a free agent with the
New England Patriots. He started 14 games at wide receiver for the Patriots in
2001, setting a then-career-high with 51 catches for 749 yards. Against the
Indianapolis Colts on October 21, 2001, Patten became the eighth player in NFL history (and just the second since
the merger) to run, catch, and throw for a touchdown in a 38–17 win; he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. He scored on a 29-yard end around on the Patriots' first offensive play. In the second quarter, he caught a 91-yard touchdown pass from
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
. and then caught a lateral from Brady before throwing a 60-yard pass to
Troy Brown
Troy Fitzgerald Brown (born July 2, 1971) is an American football coach and former player who is the wide receivers and kick returners coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a wide receiver and k ...
. It was the first such game since
Walter Payton
Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...
did it in 1979.
Patten caught a touchdown pass from
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Washington State, whe ...
in the
AFC Championship Game at
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and then caught a score from Tom Brady in the Patriots'
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
win over the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
in February 2002, earning his first
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...
.
In
2002, Patten again started 14 of 16 games, setting a career-high with 61 receptions, 824 yards, and five touchdowns while leading Patriots receivers with 13.5 yards per catch. Patten started five of the team's first six games in
2003 before being placed on
injured reserve on November 7. Patten returned to start 11 of 16 games in
2004, recording 44 catches for 800 yards and seven touchdowns and earning his third Super Bowl ring in a win over the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
in
Super Bowl XXXIX.
Washington Redskins
Following the 2004 season, Patten signed a five-year, $13 million contract with the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
. Patten started seven of the first nine games of the season with the Redskins before being placed on injured reserve on November 18. He finished the season with 22 receptions for 217 yards. In
2006, Patten played in the first four games of the season, recording one reception for 25 yards, his only catch of the season. He was inactive for the remainder of the season except Week 17. He was released by the Redskins on March 22, 2007.
New Orleans Saints
A few weeks after his release from Washington, Patten signed a one-year deal with the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
. He went on to have the second-best season of his career statistically, catching 54 passes for 792 yards and three touchdowns. Patten started three of the first four games for the Saints in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, but played in only one game after that due to injuries. He finished the season with 11 catches for 162 yards and one touchdown and was released by the Saints following the season.
Second stint with Browns
Patten signed with the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
for the second time on March 23, 2009 as a free-agent. He was released on September 5, 2009.
Return to New England and retirement
On February 24, 2010, Patten was signed by the Patriots.
On July 31, 2010, Patten announced his retirement. When asked why he was retiring he responded, "I just felt like it was time. It just hit me yesterday. Camp was going really well. I was still able to go out and be competitive and operate at a high level, but I believe once you get to the point in your career where it's multiple years—it would be my 13th year—and you're thinking about it mentally and you're not 100 percent into it mentally wise, it's tough to play this game. I always felt like when I got to that that point, it would be in my best interests to walk away."
Return to Western Carolina University
David Patten had returned to Western Carolina University to complete his degree in social work and, at the time of his death in 2021, he was entering his ninth season as an assistant coach for
the Catamounts.
Death
On September 2, 2021, Patten died in a three-vehicle accident in
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...
, aged 47. While riding his motorcycle, he traveled left off the center line and collided with a sedan, which later collided with another vehicle.
References
External links
New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, David
1974 births
2021 deaths
Albany Firebirds players
American football wide receivers
Cleveland Browns players
Motorcycle road incident deaths
New England Patriots players
New Orleans Saints players
New York Giants players
People from Hopkins, South Carolina
Players of American football from South Carolina
Road incident deaths in South Carolina
Washington Redskins players
Western Carolina Catamounts football players