For Patten, Signings Provide 'Motivation'

"The intellectual me said, 'Why don't they just release you from your contract?' The emotional me said, 'Have they given up on me? Don't they want me anymore?' Ever since this began, I've been thinking about that," Patten said.

"I could go in the tank. I could say they wronged me. But the spirit overrides the intellectual me. The spirit overrides the emotional me. The spirit talks to me every day, tells me to believe in Him. He tells me every day to follow Him and to trust Him. He tells me that I wasn't even supposed to be here. I went undrafted and yet I'm a 10-year veteran, a six-year starter and three-time Super Bowl winner. That spirit got me here, and I have to keep believing in my abilities. This is a time where you find out what your true character is."

In a flurry, the Redskins have been transformed at wide receiver. During Monday's news conference, the Redskins and their new acquisitions envisioned Santana Moss, Randle El and Lloyd lining up against the league's defenses. They did not mention Patten.

"This is motivation for me," Patten said. "On paper, it looks like I'm the weakest link of this group, but by the end of training camp, we'll see. Ten years ago, I would have been mad. I was so angry then. I would have been mad at the team, at my receivers coach, at everyone. I wouldn't have talked to anyone. I was so convinced that in New York [with the Giants], I deserved to be playing and I wasn't. Today, it's not like that. I have to use this as motivation for me. I'm a fighter. When training camp comes, I'm fighting for the starting job."

Stan Hixon, Washington's wide receivers coach, did not believe the Redskins would be able to upgrade as they have. The Redskins expected to try to improve through the draft at wide receiver. But once it became clear that acquiring both Lloyd and Randle El could become a reality, Hixon began looking at five years' worth of film of the St. Louis Rams.

"Everyone is going to get theirs, and that's my challenge," Hixon said, adding that the Redskins likely will use more sets involving four wide receivers, sometimes without a tight end to get more players involved.

Patten, too, not only is eager to compete but curious to see how this new bevy of talent will jell on the field.

"You have to have buy in. We've got three young dogs, and they'll all be hungry," he said. "I'm the old head of the group. As long as we don't worry about numbers, we should be all right. Everyone's got egos, and that's the challenge. If everyone buys in, why can't we win the championship?"