ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Tim Patrick made his way through the Broncos’ locker room Thursday with crutches, wearing an enormous brace on his surgically repaired right knee and a smile.
“Mentally, I’m in a great place,’’ Patrick said as he leaned on his crutches near where Courtland Sutton was sitting at his locker.
Coming off back-to-back seasons where he had at least 50 catches, 730 yards and five touchdowns, Patrick suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) early in training camp. Patrick had gone up to make a contested catch, but it wasn’t how he landed that caused the injury.
“It happened when I took off,’’ he said. “I took off and tried to plant. I planted, and it just gave out on me.”
He went down in obvious pain, but he didn’t think it was an ACL tear.
“No, because I had never had anything like this before,’’ he said. “I thought I dislocated something, I didn’t know. This was the last thing I thought it was.’’
He underwent surgery Aug. 8. So how is he coming along physically?
“Physically, it’s PR (physical rehab) every day,’’ he said. “The first four days were rough, I’m not going to lie, but after that there’s something positive that comes out of every day. From someone who reaches to me, to PR and treatment, it’s been overwhelming, honestly.”
Anyone in particular who reached out to Patrick?
“Peyton Manning reached out,’’ he said. “Brandon Marshall (the receiver). Those were the two most surprising because you look at those guys like football legends. I wouldn’t think they would take the time out of their day to reach out. Just by them doing that it was so nice. It made me see the positive out of the situation, to see that I was loved and people respected what I did on the field.”
It can be a lonely existence, physical rehab, but Patrick stays engaged by pulling especially hard for his receiver mates, with Jerry Jeudy (4 catches, 102 yards) and Courtland Sutton (4 catches, 72 yards) playing well in the Broncos’ opening 17-16 loss Monday night at Seattle.
“Almost two got to 100,’’ Patrick said. “I don’t remember when’s the last time we had that.”
He made us look it up. It happened twice for the Broncos in 2016 with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders each having 100-yard receiving games at Tennessee in Week 14 and at Cincinnati in Week 3. Trevor Siemian was the Broncos’ quarterback for those 100-100 games.
“I think it will be better this week,’’ Patrick said of the Broncos’ team as a whole. “You can go through what you do in practice, but the game is totally different. And to play in a loud environment like that, I don’t think it’s going to get any worse. I know Kansas City, it’s bad, but Seattle by itself is loud, and for them to have a reason to boo (return of quarterback Russell Wilson) that took it to a whole different level.”
So when will Patrick return? He’s got $5.5 million of his $8 million salary guaranteed in 2023, so he’ll return to the receiver rotation next season. He has said he would return before the start of OTAs next year.
“I’ve got a date in my head, I’ll let it go when we get closer to that date,’’ Patrick said. “I got a plan in my head. If it keeps going the way it is right now, I think it’s very possible.”
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