The Denver Broncos might be on their way to an official rebuild, but Sean Payton will be bringing along one of the team’s core wide receivers as part of it.
Denver Broncos and wide receiver Tim Patrick agree to one-year restructure
Quite arguably, one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ for the Denver Broncos the past two seasons revolves around what the team’s production could have looked like if Tim Patrick was healthy.
For two straight seasons, Patrick has suffered a season-ending injury in training camp. In 2022, Patrick tore his ACL after coming down with a pass from Russell Wilson, mossing former Broncos cornerback Ronald Darby before hyperextending his knee when his feet landed.
Last year, Patrick tore his Achilles after running a zig route on the team’s second play of 7-on-7. For two consecutive years, Patrick’s injuries sucked the sails out of Dove Valley during camp.
For a large portion of his Broncos career, Patrick has thrived as a big target with his 6’5 size and reliability as a clutch pass catcher. In 2020 and 2021, Patrick hauled in 11 total touchdowns for a previously anemic Broncos offense and was a reliable target when the team needed to move the chains.
In those two years, Patrick caught 104 combined passes, with 72 of those passes moving the chains for a first down.
Now, in 2024, Patrick will be back into the fold after agreeing to re-work his deal, as first reported by Mike Klis. Initially, the Broncos veteran wide receiver was facing being a cap casualty due to his $15M price tag.
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Denver would have saved around $9.5M in cap space by releasing him, but Sean Payton has always had a vision for Patrick inside of this offense. Payton classified Patrick’s role in training camp as crucial for what they were hoping to achieve last season, and after his injury, Denver relied on Brandon Johnson to step up into that role, where he impressed as a potential developmental piece.
The exact parameters of his re-worked deal are not yet released but will be added to this story when made public.
While his on-field presence was missed, Patrick has played a crucial role behind the scenes as a leader. Not only has he been a source of support for other players who were in the trainer’s room rehabbing season-ending injuries, but he has also been a constant figure in the wide receiver room, providing advice and guidance to Denver’s young wide receiver room.
There were even times this past season on gameday’s where Patrick was seen on the sideline hyping up his teammates, even moreso after Courtland Sutton would haul in a ridiculous catch, something he did often in 2023.
It’s unclear what the Broncos’ plan at quarterback will be, but Patrick will have an opportunity to get his feet back underneath him coming off of the back-to-back injuries.