In some sad news, former Washington offensive tackle Joe Patton died this week. Patton, 50, was a third-round pick by Washington in the 1994 NFL draft and spent five seasons with the team.
On Instagram, his former teammate, Tre Johnson, shared the news of Patton’s passing.
Former Washington offensive lineman Joe Patton has died at age 50, according to former teammate Tré Johnson.
Patton was a third-round pick in 1994 and played with Washington from 1994-1998.https://t.co/FTE1kLyLJX pic.twitter.com/CAXE97jnGZ
— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 14, 2022
In his five NFL seasons, Patton played in 61 games for Washington, making 54 starts. He was a part of the same draft class as Johnson, which also included quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Gus Frerotte. While the quarterbacks were the headliners, Johnson and Patton were arguably the best players from that draft class.
Patton played college football at Alabama A&M.
In his Instagram post, Johnson noted he posted the news of Patton’s death on social media as a way to “link up with all my brethren who I don’t keep in contact with from those times like I should to not only alert you to this fact but see if you have additional information.”
A pair of longtime Washington sportswriters remembered Patton fondly.
Joe Patton, 50. Damn. 2nd-highest draft pick to come out of Alabama A&M — 97th overall in 1994. (HOFer John Stallworth went 82nd to the #Steelers in ’74.) That ’96 Washington O-line, with Joe at LT, Tre Johnson at LG & no gazelle at QB, gave up just 22 sacks. R.I.P. #Commanders
— Dan Daly (@dandalyonsports) September 14, 2022
Rick Snider’s Washington gives injury news on the Washington Commanders plus former Redskins tackle Joe Patton has died. Gimme two minutes. pic.twitter.com/JqFrQrXfGR
— Rick Snider’s Washington (@Snide_Remarks) September 14, 2022
Patton’s head coach in Washington was Norv Turner. Turner’s son, Scott, is now the offensive coordinator of the Commanders.