Broncos have heartfelt reactions to Tim Patrick getting injured

Tuesday was the Broncos first day in pads. Training camp had been underway for nearly a week, but Day 6 was the first time it was going to be “real football.”

It didn’t take long for a sobering reminder of what that term can mean to bite the Broncos. About an hour into practice, Tim Patrick made a leaping catch on a 50/50 ball, landed on the ground, turned upfield and then fell to the turf. In obvious pain, the wide receiver was clutching his knee.

Immediately, it was obvious that the injury was serious. The cart coming out to take the fifth-year wideout off the field reinforced that point.

The injury seemed to take some of the air out of the practice. The enthusiasm that came withe first padded day of training camp evaporated. The emotional letdown of seeing a key member of the team go down was tough to overcome.

After practice, the Broncos reacted to the news. Not surprisingly, they were a bit shaken by what they’d seen.

“He’s such an amazing leader; he’s done everything we’ve asked,” Nathaniel Hackett said. “It breaks your heart.”

That sentiment was shared by the head coach’s players.

“It’s always tough any time you lose anybody that is a part of the team, but especially someone like Tim,” Kareem Jackson added. “He’s been a worker on that side of the ball for years. He earned a payday last year, rightfully so. He was very deserving. It’s tough. We can’t replace a guy like that.”

A fellow key contributor on the offensive side of the ball reiterated that point.

“It’s sad,” Melvin Gordon explained. “I watched the work he put in this offseason. He told me that he was working out three times per day, so he’d be good when he got into camp. I just know how much he was grinding. I know how much he wanted to be great, to be special.”

When Patrick went down, his teammates gathered around him. That’s because of the respect they have for their teammate, Gordon explained.

“Guys bust their butts; that’s why you see guys huddled around,” the running back said. “We all see it. We see the work that’s been put in. For that to be taken away, it’s just sad.”

While there hasn’t been any official news about Patrick’s injury, the early indications are that it was serious. The wide receiver is undergoing an MRI, with news to follow. Publicly, the Broncos are remaining optimistic. But by the sounds of his head coach and teammates, Tim Patrick’s season may have come to a premature end.

***