Cripps was born in Perth, but at a young age he moved to the small farming town of Northampton in Western Australia's Mid West.

He represented Western Australia at the 2013 AFL Under-18 Championships, serving as vice-captain and winning a place in the All-Australian Team for the tournament.

Even as a junior, his playing style as a strong-bodied midfielder with a strong ability to win clearances by handpass drew comparisons with club Hall of Famer and AFL Team of the Century player Greg Williams.

In just his second season, Cripps, standing at 195 cm (6 ft 5 in), established himself as a top inside midfielder, finishing 8th in the league for contested possessions and 11th for clearances, and earning strong acclaim for his attacking use of handball.

[9] Cripps had a magnificent 2018, winning his second Carlton best and fairest, All-Australian honours, and finishing second in voting for the Leigh Matthews Trophy.

Averaging over 29 touches a game, Cripps managed to become the leading contested possession winner and breaking the league record for a single-season haul, eclipsing Patrick Dangerfield's previous benchmark of 386 with 388.

[19] With a drop of form across both COVID impacted seasons, Cripps faced criticism by multiple former AFL players with him being accused of being a "journeyman" and playing for million dollar contract[20] The year 2022 started with Patrick polling 25 of a possible maximum 30 votes in the AFLCA MVP over the first three rounds, before injuring a hamstring against the Gold Coast Suns in round four.

Cripps won the 2022 Brownlow Medal by a single vote, becoming the first Carlton player to win it since Chris Judd in 2010.

[21] In round 3 of the 2023 season, Cripps recorded a career-best 42 disposals in Carlton's ten-point win over Greater Western Sydney.