FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons wide receiver/running back Cordarrelle Patterson said he was supporting wide receiver Calvin Ridley with his tweet Monday.
Patterson tweeted “free my dawg” after Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson received a six-game suspension in his case under the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. Ridley has been suspended indefinitely, at least for this season, for gambling on games.
“I tweeted out,” Patterson said after practice Tuesday. “I know I probably got a lot of hate for that, but I really don’t give a (expletive).”
Ridley can apply for reinstatement in February.
“That’s my teammate, and I want him to play,” Patterson said. “I stand by all of my teammates. I just want him to be out here. I know he misses football. He loves it.”
Patterson is in his second season with the Falcons. He played with Ridley last season before Ridley left the team to tend to his mental well-being.
“That’s my guy,” Patterson said. “He’s great. He’s one of the best receivers that I’ve ever seen in person and play. There are a lot of receivers out there, but I actually got to play with him.
“His route-running. His ability to get open and catch the ball is amazing. Of course I want him back out there as much as (anybody) in that locker room.”
Patterson was asked about the outlook for the team.
“As long as we do better than 2-15, we’ll be good,” said Patterson, referring to the USA Today prediction that the Falcons will win only two games. “If we do better than that, we did our job.”
Patterson said the 2-15 banter was not written down in the locker room.
“Yeah, in my head,” Patterson said, “If you’re really worrying about that, you’re worrying about the wrong thing. We are football players. We are going to go out and compete each and every week.
“We are not really worrying about what the outsiders are saying. Of course we hear it. But we can either believe it. Believe we are a 2-15 team, or we can go out and just try to make a run for the playoffs.”
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