Tim Patrick

Missed the entire 2022 AND 2023 seasons. Caught 33 passes the year he came back.

Two back-to-back season-ending injuries: torn ACL in 2022 preseason, torn Achilles in 2023 training camp. Patrick missed all of both seasons — and came back for Detroit in 2024 at age 31 to play 15 regular-season games and score 3 TDs. The 2024 comeback is the headline.

Why it matters. Back-to-back season-ending injuries (ACL then Achilles) would end most careers, but Patrick returned to play every regular-season game Detroit needed of him in 2024.

2020 was peak Patrick — 742 yards and 6 TDs as a Bronco.

All 3 career 100-yard receiving games came in 2020 with Denver. The 2020-21 Patrick was a legitimate WR2: 104 catches, 1,476 yards, 11 TDs across two years. Then the injuries hit.

Why it matters. The concentration of Patrick's peak production in a single season — all three of his 100-yard games in one year — underscores how much the 2022 ACL tear derailed a player on an ascending trajectory.

Pre-injury (2018-21): 51 games, 12 TDs. Post-injury (2024-25): 28 games, 6 TDs — but TD rate went up.

Patrick's pre-injury numbers (Denver 2018-21): 143 catches, 2,009 yards, 12 TDs in 51 games. Post-injury (Detroit 2024, Jacksonville 2025): 48 catches, 581 yards, 6 TDs in 28 games.

The yards-per-game halved: 39.4 pre vs. 20.8 post. But the TD rate rose — 12.5% TDs per reception post-injury vs. 8.4% pre. Smaller role, sharper red-zone target.

Why it matters. After losing nearly three full seasons to back-to-back ACL/Achilles tears, Patrick's post-comeback role shrank but his touchdown efficiency actually improved — he's converting a higher share of his catches into scores.

His first NFL game in 981 days ended with a Lions win and no stats. He stuck around for 15 more.

Patrick's last 2021 game (Jan 8, 2022) and his first 2024 game (Sep 15, 2024) sit 981 days apart — nearly three full calendar years without a regular-season snap. He played 15 of 17 regular-season games for the Lions in his return year, scoring 3 TDs. The 2025 move to Jacksonville added 3 more TDs on just 24 targets — efficient red-zone work in a smaller role.

Why it matters. 981 days without a regular-season game — losing both 2022 and 2023 to separate major injuries on different legs — and he came back to play 15 of 17 games. That's an extraordinary return from consecutive season-ending surgeries.

In 2025, Patrick scored 3 TDs on just 24 targets — one was on his only look of the game.

In 2025 with Jacksonville, Patrick caught 3 TD passes on only 24 targets all season — a 12.5% TD-per-target rate. Week 6 was the extreme case: he saw 1 target, caught 1 pass, scored 1 TD. For context, the average NFL WR scores a TD on roughly 3-4% of targets. Patrick's post-comeback role is tiny, but when the ball finds him near the end zone, he delivers.

Why it matters. A 12.5% TD-per-target rate for an entire season is elite efficiency — it shows that despite a shrinking role at age 32, Patrick remains a precision red-zone weapon rather than a volume receiver.