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The Daily OrangeFB | Patterson signs with Eagles
Former SU quarterback joins crowd in Philadelphia
By John Clayton
Posted: 6/5/07, 8:30 PM EST Section: Sports
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PHILADELPHIA - Perry Patterson might not be the next Donovan McNabb, but at least for the next week and a half the two former Syracuse signal callers will share time on the same field. That's because Patterson signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday hours before the team convened for Organized Team Activities (OTAs) that will run through next Friday.
Terms of the deal were undisclosed, but the Lancaster, Pa., native was on the practice field Tuesday afternoon, wearing No. 7.
"This is one of the teams that was really interested in me," Patterson said. "Coach Robinson and my agent have been keeping in touch with the coaching staff here. They bought me in and they're basically going to see how things work out the next two weeks. Basically they just want to see if I belong."
A three-year starter at SU and a captain his senior season in 2006, Patterson finished his Syracuse career fourth all-time in passing yards (5,220) and third in career completions (456) and pass attempts (862).
Yet those numbers didn't entice too many suitors prior to the draft. Patterson said he had spoken with Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland and Buffalo, but interest from all three cooled following the draft. The Eagles threw Patterson a lifeline when they invited him for a workout on Monday and saw enough to offer the former Orange quarterback a deal.
With three active quarterbacks on the roster, Patterson received relatively few reps in his first practice Tuesday. In fact, Patterson saw no snaps in 7-on-7 or full-team drills, spending most of the practice working on hand-offs or short passes with the running backs.
Having already missed two weeks of organized camps, Patterson is considerably behind his new counterparts.
"I didn't get as many reps today because it was my first day but tomorrow they're going to start working me in," Patterson said. "They told me the situation before I came in. They got to get guys ready now. It's not like they have time to mold me into the system."
In signing with Philadelphia, Patterson has an opportunity to learn from McNabb, a player who Patterson described as "one of the reasons I went to Syracuse." Patterson spent the day soaking up information from McNabb, who is sidelined currently recovering from a torn ACL but was out on the field with the rest of the quarterbacks.
"We spoke about (former Syracuse) Coach (Paul Pasqualoni) and had a few laughs about the coaching staff and things like that," Patterson said. "He was telling me about some of his experiences back at school. It was all fun. He's helping out there making sure everything's not spinning in my head. He teaches me and lets me know what's going on."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
DAVID FELDER (HOLLYWOOD)
posted 6/06/07 @ 2:31 PM EST
Perry is a good size guy to play in the NFL.I hope his career really takes off. He has the size and the arm to take him to the upper level. Don't let a poor Syracuse offense sell this guy short. (Continued…)
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