Tim Patrick’s health is encouraging for the Broncos offense.
Patrick told the Broncos website he feels like himself after two straight season-ending injuries.
Good morning, Broncos Country!
The absence of Tim Patrick has been felt in the last two seasons.
You could argue that he’s the most important piece to the offense, especially with a rookie quarterback who needs consistency from the wide receiver position.
But after a pair of season-ending injuries in training camp, ACL and Achilles, and being north of 30, how much is left for Patrick? After all, Patrick hasn’t played in a game for Denver since Jan. 8, 2022, against the Kansas City Chiefs.
As he told the Broncos website after a pair of practices:
“I felt like myself. I felt twitchy. I felt like I was running (full speed). Honestly, I think I’m right there where I was three years ago, right now.”
The fact Patrick has the confidence that he does is huge. That’s the first step to becoming the player he expects to become again, and one the Broncos have sorely missed. Hopefully, the string of awful injury luck is behind Patrick, and he can return to being a Rod Smith-esque receiver. There’s no doubt Denver has missed his contributions on the field and as a leader.
“Granted, I wasn’t here (when he last played in a game), but I kind of have an idea or vision for the player,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton told the Denver media during minicamp. “Then all the other things that he brings relative to his competitiveness, his versatility. He’s a great teammate. I think he’s an important part of the locker room, so it’s good to see him more and be smart with that.”
Now that Patrick made it out of OTAs and minicamp the next hurdle is training camp. That’s one he hasn’t cleared in two years. But if he can do that and get on the field, he’ll make the Broncos offense that much better.
As he told the Broncos website:
“I pride myself on being able to do a little bit of everything, and I feel like when you have that wild card on the field, a defense can’t hone in on ‘This guy’s going to do that, this guy’s going to do that.’ With me, I can do everything on the field, so they have to play me honest.
“Once you play me honest, I feel like I’m going to win my one-on-one most of the time. I think I can help with just keeping drives longer with tough catches on third down and making those plays that people don’t expect you to make for touchdowns, for first downs. … I think the biggest thing I’m going to bring is keeping the offense on the field for longer and more plays, so that means more opportunities for touchdowns.”
David Shaw interviewed for the NFL team’s head coach position in 2023 and will now serve as a personnel executive to evaluate players on the team led by Sean Payton.
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