Over four season in the NFL, Cordarrelle Patterson should have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to when he should and should not take the ball out of the end zone. But if they leave the decision in his hands, the answer will always be the same.

“My decision: I’m always bringing it out,” Patterson said Thursday with a laugh. “I’ve always been aggressive. I’m a guy that, I want to make a play unless coach looks at me and is like, ‘Just take a knee,’ and the situation in the game is that we don’t need it, I’ll just take a knee. But, 100 percent I want to take it out, no matter what.”

“It’s the green light for me. Every time the ball is kicked, it’s the green light.”

In his career, the 2-time All Pro return man has had five return touchdowns, including one against the Raiders in 2015. That was the only one of Patterson’s five return touchdowns that he didn’t take out of the end zone. The other four returns went for 101, 104, 105, and of course his famous 109-yarder against the Packers as a rookie in 2013.

Even bobbling the ball won’t necessarily keep Patterson from a return attempt. The only time he takes a knee is when he’s explicitly instructed to do so.

“I have bobbled the ball before, I brought it out and scored,” said Patterson. “So that’s not a factor. It all depends on what coach wants. If he don’t want me to bring it out, I’m not going to bring it out.”

With that attitude, you might think he is boom or bust on his returns, but the numbers say otherwise. He averages over 30 yards per return (30.4) for his career which means he is a safe bet to at least get the Raiders offense started with an extra five yards from what they would have had if he had taken a knee.

“Anything past the 25 is a plus,” Patterson continued. “They kick a touchback, we start at the 25. So, anything over the 25 I feel like is a plus for the offense. But a guy like me, I want to score every time. I don’t even want the offense out there. I want to go out and score each time I can. But, it’s not always going to happen like that. So, if I get past the 25 or 30 I feel good about myself.”

Well, that explains why Patterson always has a smile on his face. He has led the NFL in kick return average three of his four seasons including each of the last two. He feels good about himself a lot.