Raiders : Receiver Pattison May Not Fit Into Pattern

Another year older and deeper on the depth chart.

This is your pro career, Mark Pattison.

A No. 7 pick out of Washington in 1985, wide receiver Pattison was a cult hero in his first Raider camp and made the active roster last season. He has gotten taller (6-1 1/2 to 6-3), leaner (198 to 190) and faster (4.75 in the 40 as a rookie to 4.51 this spring in a mini-camp), and his hands are still foolproof. But the better he does, the behinder he gets.

Since last season, the Raiders have added James Lofton from Green Bay, and Mervyn Fernandez and Chris Woods from Canada, all locks.

Since they will probably only keep five receivers, this would seem to leave room for Dokie Williams and their choice of Jesse Hester and Rod Barksdale. Barksdale is said to be an Al Davis favorite and teammates say he made tremendous strides in the off-season.

Tim Moffett? The Raiders have already moved him to cornerback, where he’s struggling.

Mark Pattison? He’s still running those picture routes. In the first Cowboy scrimmage, he combined with Ed Luther on a 70-yard touchdown bomb. After the second scrimmage, Raider Coach Tom Flores said that Pattison “comes into the picture after today and Sunday.”

Unless this picture is in Cinemascope, Pattison thinks he has seen the ending before.

“It’s just kinda been the story of my career so far,” he said Friday. “When I came in here, they’d just drafted Jesse Hester on the first round, Timmy Moffett on the third. I was psyched to have been picked by the Raiders but I was kinda puzzled.

“I feel like, if you want to be a wide receiver in the National Football League, the last place in the world you’d want to be is the Los Angeles Raiders. Where do I find myself? (Laughing) The Los Angeles Raiders.

“It’s been frustrating but a lot of people--coaches, players--have voiced a lot of support. I’m out here competing against these guys who are All-Pro, day-in, day-out, and there have been times when I’ve had some success.”

Clearly what is needed is an alternate employer. After the Raiders cut him in camp a year ago, the Rams signed him in the wake of one of their Henry Ellard holdouts but dropped him soon thereafter to make room for a needed long snapper. The New York Giants flew him across country and worked him out at 8:30 the next morning--5:30 a.m., West Coast and his body time, the way Pattison figures it. He ran a slow 40 and was passed over. Somewhere out there, a good break is still looking for him.

The Dallas Morning News reported that Bo Jackson’s contract is $7.4 million over five years, which would make him the highest paid non-quarterback in the history of the game (football, not his other one).

It would put him fourth overall behind Dan Marino ($9 million), Vinny Testaverde ($8.2 million) and Jim Kelly ($8 million). John Elway is also expected to sign for $8 million-plus soon.

According to the Morning News, Jackson has a $1-million signing bonus, half to be paid this season, the other half if he joins the team next season.

The base salaries reportedly average $864,000, for a total of $4.32 million.

Jackson will also get a $420,000 deferred bonus for each season he plays. If he plays the length of the contract, he’ll collect a total of $2.1 million, payable in 25 years.

The Morning News says the contract is guaranteed against injury, that it is not pegged to the number of games Jackson plays with the Raiders. Unlike his baseball contract, it has no buyout/give-back clause. Whenever Bo wants to quit, he walks away with what he has earned.

The Raiders cut quarterback Bruce Mathison, punter Scott Livingston, defensive back Ron Foster and linebacker Tony Caldwell.