Coach Sean Payton is tasked with helping the Denver Broncos improve upon their NFL-worst scoring offense from the 2022 season. Getting Russell Wilson on the same page with his top weapons, led by Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, along with the return of Tim Patrick, who missed the entire season with a torn ACL, is a clear priority after improving the protection in the trenches.
The plan has now had another wrench thrown in after Monday’s training camp practice when Patrick had to be carted off the field after suffering an Achilles injury, according to coach Payton. Patrick had already been returning from an offseason knee surgery and now could be looking at missing his second year of football in a row.
It’s a big blow for a Broncos team in desperate need of drastic improvement on offense. Prior to his ACL injury in 2022, Patrick had been coming off consecutive 700+ yard seasons with at least five touchdowns each year. But the organization felt there was more untapped potential to come for the 6-foot-4, 212-pound receiver.
Now 29, set to turn 30 in November, Patrick could be looking at another long road back to the football field, yet unfortunately, it’s one he knows all too well. Patrick is under contract for the 2024 season, too, with a cap hit of $13 million, but at that point, it’s possible he’ll have missed the past two years.
Expect the Broncos to integrate rookie second-round pick Marvin Mims into the offense perhaps a bit earlier than expected, along with K.J. Hamler continuing to get more looks once he’s back to 100%. Otherwise, it’s still the Sutton and Jeudy show in Denver.
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