Minnesota Vikings Officially Pass On Cordarrelle Patterson's Option

There was speculation on this front in the weeks leading up to this year's draft, but today the Minnesota Vikings made it official.

The team has chosen to not pick up the fifth-year option on the contract of wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

Patterson, the third of the Vikings' three first-round picks in the 2013 NFL Draft, exploded onto the scene as a rookie in both the kick return game and as a receiver once he got the opportunity. He looked to continue that with a big season opener against the St. Louis Rams to start the 2014 season, but after that he just sort of fell off the map. Since Week 3 of the 2014 season, he's had just one game that's seen him catch more than two passes, and he appeared to reach rock bottom in 2015 by catching two passes.

Not in a game. . .all season long.

Patterson has continued to be the unquestioned best kickoff returner in the National Football League. However, with the diminishing value of the kick return game in the NFL, the Vikings apparently decided it wasn't worth it to pick up his nearly $8 million option.

We've seen clips this offseason of Patterson attempting to work on his game, but unless something truly miraculous happens in 2016, it appears that's going to be too little, too late.