Broncos to keep veteran WR on reworked deal

Patrick has agreed to a reworked contract to stay in Denver, according to 9News’ Mike Klis. 

One year remained on Patrick’s previous contract — a three-year, $30M extension agreed to during the 2021 season — but ACL and Achilles tears have kept him off the field over the past two seasons. The Broncos are not adding any years to the deal.

With Simmons gone, Patrick sits behind only Garett Bolles for seniority on the Broncos. The former UDFA has been with the team since midway through the 2017 season, predating Courtland Sutton in Denver. 

Sutton and Jerry Jeudy‘s statuses are again up in the air, but the team will again try to go into a season with the 6-foot-4 pass catcher available to suit up.

Operating as a regular for the Broncos during a period in which Sutton, Jeudy and KJ Hamler each encountered notable injury trouble, Patrick established himself as a key auxiliary option for the likes of Drew Lock, Joe Flacco and Teddy Bridgewater. 

The possession receiver totaled 742 yards in 2020 and 734 in 2021, finishing second on the team in receiving yardage in each season. 

But Patrick will effectively have skipped the Broncos’ rocky Russell Wilson era, going down in training camp in each of the past two years to weaken Denver’s receiving corps.

Acquired during the John Elway GM period, Patrick joined the Broncos as a practice squad addition in October 2017. He worked his way into a $10M-per-year contract; the Broncos re-signed both Patrick and Sutton during the 2021 season. 

Patrick’s extension proved important given the events of the following two Augusts, but with the Broncos needing to cut costs, no realistic chance existed they would retain Patrick on his slotted salary ($9.5M). 

But the Utah alum is well-regarded as a leader in the locker room. It is not known which of his WR teammates beyond Marvin Mims Jr. will be back, but the Broncos will give the 30-year-old target another opportunity.