Amid the Denver Broncos‘ 27-2 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers, the Mile High Faithful were treated to the sight of veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick out on the field, running routes, and catching passes. Even though it was naught but a preseason game, Patrick’s appearance was a triumph of the human spirit, after he spent the last two seasons recovering and rehabbing from grievous injuries.

Just when it seemed like Lady Luck had turned her back on Patrick, there he was out on the grass, and not just running routes, but leading the Broncos in receptions and catching rookie quarterback Bo Nix’s first touchdown pass at home. Everyone, including head coach Sean Payton, was happy for Patrick post-game.

“Players were excited in there for him,” Payton said of Patrick. “He had a big smile on his face. When you have one of those injuries, it’s quiet, it’s lonely, everything goes on, it’s difficult. When you have it for two [seasons]… You can really go back historically and then try to find players that have been out for two years and it’s tough. It’s a long time in this sport. So when he has a moment like that or when he has a practice where you see him getting back to form, it’s encouraging.”

To make Payton’s point about a two-year absence being a long time in the NFL, the Broncos themselves were ready to get off the Patrick train. The team approached him early this past offseason about a restructure. The implicit threat: restructure or release.

Patrick accepted a one-year deal that’ll pay him $1.125 million in 2024, which is a precipitous step down from the, roughly, $10 million he was set to earn in the final year of the three-year, $30 million extension he signed in 2021. The logic being that if the Broncos could stay patient just a little while longer, he would reward their support with a return to the field.

So far, so good.

“Obviously, I’m happy,” Patrick said post-game. “I have a higher standard of myself. Just trying to be a better story. So, it’s a step in the right direction… And obviously, I want to go out during the preseason and make plays, but what’s most important is making plays when the season starts and getting wins. Not just making plays and losing but getting wins.”

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Fellow wideout Courtland Sutton was thrilled to see Patrick out there in live-bullet action, albeit with a new jersey number. As he rehabbed on injured reserve, Patrick relinquished the No. 81 last year to former Broncos receiver Tre’Quan Smith. Patrick emerged in 2024 OTAs with the No. 12 jersey.

“Man, I was so happy for him,” Sutton said. “I could have celebrated with him the rest of the game if I could. I was just so happy to see him be able to get in the end zone. He’s been working his butt off— you guys probably know it just as well. The journey he’s been on the last couple of years and to see him get in the end zone, see the excitement—you could almost feel the juice of him.”

Even Nix, who’s only been around Patrick since May, could feel the joy in the achievement of catching a pass in an exhibition game.

“Obviously, he’s been through a lot,” Nix said of Patrick. “It’s not easy to overcome the things that he has, and then to get out there and be able to contribute like he did tonight was just really cool to see. He’s a gamer. He does a really good job when his number is called. It was good to see him in the end zone.”

Patrick threw a few props the rookie’s way, too.

“He was good. He’s been consistent these last couple of days,” Patrick said. “He’s been Bo Nix. He doesn’t try and be somebody that he’s not.”

Patrick will turn 31 in November, so while he continues his race against Father Time, he’s still quite obviously at the top of the Broncos’ wide receiver pecking order. While we’ve yet to receive an official Broncos depth chart, it would seem that Payton views Patrick as his No. 2 receiver behind Sutton.

That says a lot about Patrick’s character and talent — going two years without seeing the field due to injury, and your head coach, whom you’ve technically never gone to war with, installs you as the WR2, which means your a starter… it’s impressive. Here’s to hoping Patrick can stay out of the injury bug’s line of sight and finally go on to give the Broncos a return on the $20M investment paid to him a couple of years ago.

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