The Denver Broncos have placed wide receiver Tim Patrick (hand) on injured reserve. To fill Patrick’s place on the 53-man roster, the Broncos brought back receiver/returner River Cracraft.
If a player is placed on IR during the regular season, he is eligible to return to practice after six weeks and eligible to play again after eight weeks. There’s a catch, though. NFL teams are allowed to bring back just two players from IR per year.
Patrick is the fourth player Denver has placed on IR this season, joining quarterback Drew Lock (thumb), running back Theo Riddick (shoulder) and tight end Jake Butt (knee).
So the Broncos will face some tough decisions when deciding which IR players will return to the 53-man roster later this year.
Lock may end up using his rookie season as a redshirt year because Riddick, Butt and Patrick could all contribute on offense and special teams. Lock is merely a backup and if Flacco stays healthy, Lock likely wouldn’t play during the 2019 season anyway.
Then again, if Flacco doesn’t stay healthy, Denver might be more comfortable turning to Lock than to Brandon Allen.
The tough decisions will begin looming around mid-season.
