Falcons' Cordarrelle Patterson revels in new 'Joker' position

The longtime Swiss Army knife changed his profile picture on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday night to a picture of the late actor Heath Ledger's Academy Award-winning portrayal of the Joker from the 2008 film "The Dark Knight."

Patterson has made four Pro Bowls and been named First Team All-Pro four times across his 10-year career with five teams since being selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite turning 32 in the offseason, he is still expected to be a focal point of a very young Falcons offense in 2023, while contributing his normal heavy load on special teams as well.

Atlanta's starting quarterback (Desmond Ridder), running back (Bijan Robinson), tight end (Kyle Pitts) and top wide receiver (Drake London) are all under 25 years old. Ridder turned 24 on Aug. 31, London and Pitts are 22 and Robinson is 21.

Patterson proved last year that he isn't slowing down yet, as he set the NFL record for most career kickoff return touchdowns when he brought back his ninth return for a score on a 103-yarder.

He averaged 31.6 yards on nine kickoff returns during the 2022 campaign and has posted a career average of 29.5 yards on 266 attempts. Patterson also added 817 yards from scrimmage (695 on the ground) and eight rushing scores last year.

Patterson will get to debut his "Joker" position when the Falcons host the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.