WR Quinton Patton signs with Jets

Free agent wide receiver Quinton Patton has officially signed with the New York Jets. Patton visited with the team over the weekend. It was his first visit during free agency.

Patton was expected to sign with the Jets following a video and numerous goodbye tweets by the receiver that were posted earlier this week.

Since being selected by the 49ers in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the receiver had spent all four of his NFL seasons with San Francisco. 2016 saw him starting 14 games – the most of his career. During those games, he had just 37 catches for 408 yards and no touchdowns.

You may remember that Patton was so eager to join the team who drafted him that he flew from Nashville to San Francisco, paying for the trip with his own money, but was forced to return home after he arrived at the team's headquarters. Newly drafted players are only allowed to be at a team's facility during a 24-hour period following their selection. The situation could have caused a big dilemma for the team.

"We had to go, 'You're where? What airport did you fly in to? You're in a rental car driving here?'" then-head coach Jim Harbaugh said during an interview on KNBR in 2013. "'Yeah, coach, 20 minutes away.' We go, 'He can't be here, he can't come here. He's not allowed to be at our facility.'"

Patton, 26, has 73 catches for 880 yards and a touchdown during his career. That lone touchdown came in 2015 during a 25-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. His move to the Jets reunites the receiver with his former receivers coach, John Morton, who is now the offensive coordinator with New York.

According to Patton, the 49ers made no effort to re-sign the receiver. He never met with head coach Kyle Shanahan or general manager John Lynch since the two were hired by the team. "I haven't talked to them," Patton said on the "Taylor Price Talk" podcast last week. "I didn't get a chance to talk to them. They're busy and everything. It's a business, you know what I'm saying? If they wanted to talk to me, we would have had time to talk."

Patton ended the 2016 season on injured reserve following a foot injury during a loss to the Atlanta Falcons on December 18. He is just the third 49ers free agent to sign with another team. The others are kicker Phil Dawson, who signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, and running back Shaun Draughn, who is headed to the New York Giants.

On Monday, Patton posted the following on Instagram:

Thank You For Everything I will miss The Red and Gold you will always have a place in my heart. I wear my emotions on my sleeve for a reason. I gave my all, All the time. I never complained I never pointed the finger I just came to work everyday to get me and my teammates better. And I can honestly say I came to SF a lil boy with a dream and I'm happy to say that I'm leaving as a Man on a Mission!!!!!!!! Thank You Jed York and the @49ers for making me feel like everyday I came to work that everyone in the building was family from the Trainers, Equipt Staff, Janitors, Chefs, and to the 49ers Security Thank You So much again I will never ever ever forget yall! But it's time for a New Chapter in my Life

Patton also thanked former teammates like Bruce Ellington, NaVorro Bowman, Joe Staley, and others.