Broncos WR Tim Patrick has Everything to Prove to Sean Payton Regime

Tim Patrick proved himself to a previous Denver Broncos regime, but now the jury's out.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick (12) during organized team activities at Centura Health Training Center. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries have been prevalent throughout Tim Patrick's career, both with the Denver Broncos and in college. He started 22 games over three seasons with the Utah Utes, missing one entire season due to an injury.

In the action Patrick did have, he caught 61 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns. Patrick went undrafted and signed with the Baltimore Ravens, where he lasted almost three months.

After Baltimore waived him, Patrick signed with the San Francisco 49ers and made it until the final roster cut-downs. In October 2017, the  Broncos signed him up for the practice squad. For the rest of the 2017 season, he remained with the Broncos and signed a reserve/future contract. 

Patrick finally saw the field in 2018 but played sparingly for the first 13 weeks. Over the 12 games across that span, he was targeted 10 times with four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Patrick was called upon to play a more prominent role to close out the 2018 season, with 30 targets and 19 catches for 242 yards over the final four games. This led to some hype around him entering the 2019 season. 

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Patrick broke his hand in Week 1, yet another setback for someone already deemed injury-prone. He was placed on injured reserve, only to be activated for the season's final seven games. Patrick started two of those seven games and caught 16-of-30 targets for 218 yards. The hype had diminished, but he still flashed some serious potential. 

In 2020, Patrick came along as a player, catching 51-of-74 targets for 742 yards and six touchdowns. What people loved the most was his reliability in coming down with the ball, as he had zero drops during the season. Patrick dropped four passes in 2018, then one in 2019. Drops were an issue for the Broncos in 2020, so having Patrick be reliable there was a boost. 

Patrick followed up the 2020 season with 53 catches on 83 targets for 735 yards and five touchdowns. However, his reliability took a hit with five drops that season.

Despite that, Patrick earned a three-year contract extension worth $34.5 million in November of 2021. He was on the rise as a receiver, and the Broncos locked him up before he could test the open market. 

Then, on August 2, 2022, Patrick tore his ACL during draining camp. He was done for the season. A receiver on the rise suddenly had to wait before showing the Broncos that the extension was worth it. 

Not even a year later, Patrick went down again on July 31, 2023. This time he suffered a torn Achilles and was placed on injured reserve a few days later, ending his season. Patrick has not played a down two years into his contract extension. 

The Broncos reworked Patrick's contract this past offseason and gave him a significant pay cut, but he has a chance to make the team. If Patrick weren’t willing to accept the Broncos' pay cut, he likely would’ve been cut. 

Bottom Line

The Broncos don’t have a great receiver room, so Patrick has a good shot at making the roster. After missing the last two seasons, the question is, where's he at with his conditioning and ability?

Patrick isn’t guaranteed a roster spot, which is an excellent way to go about it after the unfortunate injuries of the last two years. He has to go out there and earn a spot. The good news is that Patrick has typically thrived under pressure. 

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