The Jacksonville Jaguars have added a veteran receiver to the mix.
The Jags have acquired Tim Patrick in a trade with the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick, the teams announced on Wednesday.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero initially reported the deal earlier Wednesday.
The 31-year-old receiver, who missed all of 2022 and 2023 due to ACL and Achilles injuries, respectively, played 16 games for Detroit last season, corralling 33 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns.
An undrafted free agent in 2017, Patrick found a home in Denver, generating 2,009 yards and 12 touchdowns from 2018-2021. He put up back-to-back 700-plus yard campaigns, using his size and good hands as a boundary and red-zone threat. He looked like part of the future in Denver, signing a three-year, $34.5 million contract extension with the Broncos in 2021. Then injuries struck, sapping him of much of his playmaking ability.
Patrick proved healthy last offseason and, after being released by Denver, signed with Detroit. He played WR3 for the NFC-leading Lions, complementing Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams as a possession receiver.
Now the veteran heads to Jacksonville, where he’ll be a veteran presence alongside second-year stud Brian Thomas Jr., rookie Travis Hunter and 25-year-old Dyami Brown. With such a young crew, coach Liam Coen now adds a savvy vet with size who can play a reserve role and be a red-zone target. Patrick goes from a Detroit offense, in which he was lost in the shuffle, to a unit in which he has a better shot at carving out a role.
Patrick reportedly didn’t look great in Lions training camp this season and was bypassed on the depth chart by rookie sensation Isaac TeSlaa. With the third-rounder flashing playmaking throughout camp and preseason, the Lions needed to ensure he would get reps. With Patrick now in Jacksonville, there is zero question about TeSlaa’s place in the pecking order.
At 6-foot-4, 214 pounds, TeSlaa brings the size to the Lions receiver corps that it would have lacked sans Patrick. The rookie’s additional field-stretching ability -- something Patrick consistently lacked following the injuries -- adds another explosive dimension to the offense.
Throughout the preseason, it was clear that the Lions needed to ensure TeSlaa would continue to receive reps to aid his development. While he’d probably already leapfrogged Patrick in the pecking order, Wednesday’s trade ensures the rookie will see the field plenty out of the gate.