Jaret Patterson (born December 23, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Ame ...

before signing with the

Washington Commanders 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

, then known as the Washington Football Team, as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2021. Alongside Howard Griffith, Patterson holds the

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game with eight.

Early life

Patterson attended St. Vincent Pallotti High School in

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...

, where he played football with future

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Various entities present an NFL Rookie of the Year award each season to the top rookies in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official honor. Since 2011, th ...

and

teammate

Chase Young Chase Young (born April 14, 1999) is an American professional football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a unanimous All-America ...

. Patterson rushed for 2,045 yards and 23 touchdowns in his senior season. In a game against Riverdale Baptist he accounted for 558 all-purpose yards. Patterson was named an All-State Honorable Mention. He committed to the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

to play

in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

. Patterson was not as heavily recruited out of high school compared to his twin brother James and the two were recruited to Buffalo as a package deal.

College career

Patterson and his brother grayshirted in the fall of 2017 and joined the team full-time for spring practice in 2018. In his freshman season in 2018, Patterson rushed for 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and named to the All-MAC Second-team. He returned as Buffalo's starting running back in 2019 and had the best season by a running back in school history by rushing for a single-season school record 1,799 yards and scoring 19 rushing touchdowns, also a school record. He led the MAC and ranked fifth in the nation in rushing yards on his way to being named to the All-MAC First-team. In the

2019 Bahamas Bowl The 2019 Bahamas Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 20, 2019, with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the 6th edition of the Bahamas Bowl, and the first of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS foot ...

, Patterson rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns in a Buffalo win, their first bowl win in program history, and received the game's offensive MVP award. On November 28, 2020, Patterson tied Howard Griffith's FBS single-game record with eight rushing touchdowns against the

Kent State Golden Flashes The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level with footba ...

in a 70–41 win. Patterson finished the game with 36 carries for 409 yards, 18 yards short of the single-game FBS record set by former

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

running back

Samaje Perine Samaje Perine ( ; born September 16, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, and was selected by the Washingto ...

in 2014. Patterson was forced to sit out Buffalo's appearance in the

2020 Camellia Bowl The 2020 Camellia Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 25, 2020, at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the seventh edition of the Camellia Bowl, and was one of the 20 ...

, due to knee issues. Following the season, Patterson was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year and was given the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the conference's most valuable player. Patterson declared for the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

following his junior year.

Records

;Buffalo Bulls * Most rushing yards in a single game (409) * Most rushing yards in a single season (1,799) * Most rushing touchdowns in a single season (19) ;NCAA * Tied for most touchdowns in a single game (8) * Tied for most points in a single game (48)

College statistics

Professional career

Washington Football Team / Commanders (first stint)

Jaret Patterson TD celebration WFT-Eagles JAN2022

Patterson signed with the

Washington Football Team 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

on May 3, 2021, after going unselected in the

. Patterson performed well enough in the 2021 preseason to receive praise from head coach

Ron Rivera Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962) is an American football executive and former professional player and coach who is the general manager for the California Golden Bears. He played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as ...

. He was ultimately named to the team's final roster over veteran running back Peyton Barber. Prior to the first game of the regular season, Patterson was listed as the third running back on the

depth chart In sports, a depth chart, primarily in the United States, is used to show the placements of the starting players and the secondary players. Generally a starting player will be listed first or on top while a back-up will be listed below. Depth chart ...

behind Antonio Gibson and J. D. McKissic. He made his pro football debut in the first week of the season with two rushes for nine yards on four offensive snaps. After playing only on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in the following two games, he recorded his first reception in the fourth week of the season on the first

target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

of his career. It was good for eleven yards and a

first down A down in gridiron football is an attempt by the offensive team to run a play to advance the ball, while the defending team simultaneously attempts to halt their advance. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to othe ...

. In the eighth week of the season, he recorded season-highs with eleven rushing attempts and 46 rushing yards. In the Week 15 game against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Patterson

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

d for the first time in his NFL career but also scored his first career touchdown on a fourth-quarter carry from the one-yard line. Patterson would get his first career start in Week 17 against the Eagles in place of Antonio Gibson, who was on the team's COVID-19 reserve list. In the game, he recorded 57 rushing yards on 12 carries, his second career touchdown, and 41 receiving yards on five receptions. On August 30, 2022, Patterson was waived by the Commanders and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He spent the entire 2022 season on the practice squad until November 14 when he was activated for that night's game following injuries to Gibson and McKissic. The majority of the carries went to Brian Robinson Jr., however, and Patterson only appeared on four plays on special teams. Patterson appeared in a game on January 1 and returned kicks for the first time in his NFL career, picking up 70 yards on three opportunities. He was signed to the active roster again on January 5, 2023. Patterson got his first touches on offense in the final game of the season in a winning effort. Although on the bench behind Jonathan Williams, he led the team with 17 carries and 78 rushing yards, both of which set career highs. On August 28, 2023, Patterson was released as part of final roster cuts before the start of 2023 season.

Los Angeles Chargers (first stint)

On September 13, 2023, the

signed Patterson to their practice squad. He was released on December 20.

Washington Commanders (second stint)

On December 26, 2023, Patterson signed with the practice squad of the Washington Commanders. He became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired after the season.

Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)

On January 10, 2024, Patterson signed a reserve/future contract with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was waived on August 29 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 7, 2024 and appeared in one special teams play for the Chargers the following day in Kansas City. It would be his only appearance that season. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 13, 2025.

References

External links

*
Los Angeles Chargers bioBuffalo Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Jaret Living people 1999 births American football running backs Buffalo Bulls football players People from Glenn Dale, Maryland Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area American twins Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Los Angeles Chargers players