Denver Broncos: Shelby Harris, others who deserve contract extensions

3. Tim Patrick, WR

The time has come to talk about extending wide receiver Tim Patrick, though, in one major way, the Broncos hold all of the leverage.

Patrick is playing on a one-year, $750,000 contract as an exclusive rights free agent. The Broncos have Patrick as a restricted free agent in the 2021 offseason, which is a huge luxury if you are able to get the right kinds of players on those deals.

Restricted free agents can be given different levels of contract ‘tenders’ each offseason, the most expensive usually coming in around $3 million. If a team decides to give a player the highest restricted free agent tender, that player can still shop their services around in free agency, but if they get signed to an offer sheet, their team has a chance to match the contract offer or receive a second-round draft pick in compensation.

More often than not, teams are not willing to give that second-round pick up for players who get that RFA tender.

The Broncos have that option with Patrick, and the way he’s played, they will likely exercise it.

Still, the possibility of just locking in Patrick at a little bit higher of a price for more years is on the table, and if the Broncos wanted to do that they very well could.

Patrick has shown tremendous value to the team with back-to-back 100-yard games. He is also an excellent special teams player.

The strides Patrick has taken in his game in recent years could lead to a multi-year deal.