Getty Denver Broncos GM George Paton speaking to the media at the 2023 NFL Combine.
As the Denver Broncos continue to plan at how they need to rebuild and reboot their roster they received good news on three of their starters from a year ago.
When speaking to the media at the NFL Combine, general manager George Paton had some positive news about Denver’s top running back Javonte Williams.
“I think he’s on track,” Paton said. “I don’t want to put a date on it, but he’s out there jogging. He’s working his butt off, he’s rehabbing. Javonte, they anticipate he would be ready for the start of the season.”
Williams suffered a torn ACL during Denver’s Week 4 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders ending his second NFL season with just 204 rushing yards and 76 receiving.
In those four games, Williams failed to reach the endzone.
As a rookie, Williams proved that he could be the starting running back for the Broncos moving forward. The former North Carolina Tar Heel rushed for 903 yards and scored four touchdowns while ranking atop the NFL in broken tackles.
Positive News For WR Tim Patrick
During training camp last Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick suffered a torn ACL and missed the entire 2022 NFL season.
The injury happened during team drills when Wilson completed a deep ball to Patrick and after the catch, Patrick made a juke move to beat the final defender and then went down dropping the ball immediately and held on to his right knee in pain. It was a noncontact injury and the entire team surrounded their second-leading receiver from a year ago.
The fifth-year wideout was then carted off the field into the team facility for more tests.
“That was a huge loss,” Paton said at the NFL Combine. “You could argue one of the biggest losses of the season. When he got hurt that day, the whole building was deflated. You guys know Tim, what he brings every day, the leader, a really good player. He’s running now, he’s jogging and I don’t know where he’ll be back in terms of the offseason program, but next season certainly he’ll be 100 percent.”
Patrick has been the Broncos’ second-leading receiver each of the past two seasons, reaching the 700-yard mark both years. The former Utah Ute has also totaled up 11 touchdowns for the Broncos during the last two years.
In November of 2021, Patrick proved himself to Paton and signed a 3-year extension worth $34.5 million with $18.5 million guaranteed.
Broncos Expected to Get a Pass Rusher Back
During last year’s offseason, the Broncos went out and added some depth at the outside linebacker position and signed former Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Randy Gregory to a five-year $70 million deal.
Dealing with a shoulder injury last offseason, Gregory was forced to miss all the team’s offseason activities.
On December 31, Gregory was placed on season ending injured reserve with a knee injury.
“I do think Randy will be ready,” Paton said. “He had a tough season. Started off, I thought he was one of the more explosive players, pass rushers in the league the first three weeks and then obviously had the injury against the Raiders. And then took a while to come back. When he came back, did some good things but I think the fact that he doesn’t have to rehab this offseason will really help Randy. Randy’s a dynamic player.”
Gregory appeared in just six games last season, sacking the quarterback twice and forcing two fumbles.
“We need to keep him available and I do anticipate he’ll be ready for the offseason program,” Paton said.