News broke on Friday that the Denver Broncos locked up one of their core offensive stars, Tim Patrick, on a three-year $34.5 million contract extension.
What does this move mean for the team moving forward? Let’s look.
Elite, reliable No. 2 in place for next QB, OC
Tim Patrick is one of the best No. 2 wide receivers in the entire sport, and the value of that should not be overlooked, and has not been in Denver, Colorado over the past two seasons.
During that span, Patrick has been the Broncos’ almost-unquestioned offensive MVP and go-to weapon in the passing game. He is far from the flashiest weapon, and his undrafted pedigree leads to him getting habitually underrated by national outlets, but he’s just good at everything.
No matter what you ask of Patrick, he can do it and he can do it at a fairly high level. The only facet of his game that might not be above-average is short-area quickness, and that’s remarkably impressive. On top of being an all-around plus to the offense, he has areas of the game in which he’s truly elite.
His size is elite and he knows how to use that size to create the necessary separation to come down with crucial third-down conversions and touchdowns. His hands are also elite, as Broncos Country knows well.
Take all that into account, and the average annual value of $11.5 milion seems like a bit of a steal. Good work Paton.
High-end offensive core locked up long term
Not only did the Broncos lock in Patrick for the next three seasons, but doing so solidfied a pretty intriguing offensive core for the foreseeable future.
Denver has Javonte Williams, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, Albert Okwuegbunam, Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz — a pretty solid foundation — all under control for the next three seasons, and they have Hamler and Cushenberry locked up for the next two on top of that.
Plus Courtland Sutton could soon join that mix with his own contract extension.
With that foundation solidified moving forward, it allows the Broncos to focus their assets on resolving the few remaining problem areas — mainly quarterback — on the offensive side of their roster.
It might feel like the Broncos are a long ways away from being a fun, exciting, dynamic offense right now, but in actuality, they are right on the presipus of realizing that dream.
Will Courtland Sutton be back?
Almost definitely yes. However, this signing makes it ever so slightly less likely.
With both Sutton and Patrick set to hit the open market this season, the Broncos absolutely had to retain one of them, or lose that young offensive foundation they had begun to cultivate. Now they have Patrick back, and his ability to thrive as a true X makes re-signing Sutton slightly less pressing.
Sutton will likely be back, Patrick’s contract is nowhere near expensive enough to make re-signing Sutton a non-option for the Broncos, but the odds probably decreased a tiny amount for the SMU product following this news.
Paton stays consistent in his messaging towards the Broncos roster
One thing that has been consistent ever since George Paton was hired as the general manager of the Denver Broncos has been star players getting rewarded for their impact on the team.
It was seen last year when the Broncos picked up Von Miller’s contract and gave Justin Simmons a large payday, among other moves, and once again it was demonstrated with Patrick.
Rewarding those players for their play in-house helps cultivate a strong culture and helps show the younger players still on their rookie deals that they will be rewarded for producing.
