The Denver Broncos made a surprise move on Tuesday when they released veteran wide receiver Tim Patrick.
Patrick missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons with injuries, but he is healthy now and looked sharp in preseason. After taking a massive pay cut this spring, the fan favorite and team leader was expected to make the 53-man roster.
Yet coach Sean Payton opted to carry five other WRs instead: Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds Marvin Mims, Devaughn Vele and Troy Franklin.
So, why did the Broncos cut Tim Patrick? Payton will meet the media after practice today. Denver general manager George Paton held a Zoom call with reporters last night.
“Yeah, obviously not an easy one,” Paton said when asked about Patrick. “Just on behalf of everyone in our organization, [we] just can’t say enough great things about the type of player and the person Tim has been while [as] a Bronco for the last seven seasons. We have a lot of great respect for Tim [with] the resilience, the work ethic and the perseverance [with] the last two years [and] to come back from the injury and play like he did. We just wish him the very best.
“What went into it is a number of things. We really like our depth at receiver, and we liked the depth at other positions on our team. We wanted to keep some other players at other positions. Special teams comes into play. Obviously, you have the new element at kickoff and kickoff return. There will be over 200 more plays. So it wasn’t just one thing. Tim did a lot of really good things. We wish him well and we’re going to miss him.”
Patrick quickly landed on his feet, joining the Detroit Lions’ practice squad. With only five receivers on the active roster, the Broncos will likely add a few WRs to their own practice squad today, potentially including Lil’Jordan Humphrey. We will track all of Denver’s moves on Broncos Wire.
