The Denver Broncos signed former Hard Knocks hopeful Ben DiNucci after he played a season at quarterback in the XFL. And on Tuesday Denver is expected to add another former XFL playmaker to their offense.
The Broncos plan to sign running back Jacques Patrick Tuesday pending his physical taken on Monday.
Patrick is a big-bodied back at 6-foot-2, 234 pounds. He ranked second in the XLF last season in rushing yards, ending the season with 443 yards and five touchdowns on 115 carries for the San Antonio Brahmas. He also hauled in 30 catches for 238 receiving yards, as his size and versatility out of the backfield must have impressed during his rookie minicamp tryout last week.
Patrick played his collegiate football at Florida State, rushing for 1,790 yards and 17 career touchdowns for the Seminoles. After going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals, spending a year on their practice squad before spending time on the San Francisco 49ers’, Carolina Panthers’, and Baltimore Ravens’ practice squads as well. In the two NFL regular season appearances of his career for the 49ers in 2021 he took two carries for 12 yards.
The Brahmas selected Patrick in the XFL Draft in November of 2022, and he now joins a backfield that features Javonte Williams coming off of a serious injury and newly signed free agents Samaje Perine and Tony Jones.
Sean Payton on his running back room
New Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is hoping to get a fully healthy Javonte Williams this upcoming season after the starting running back tore multiple ligaments in his knee in Week 4 last year ending his season. And according to Payton, the Broncos are optimistic about his return and the ball carries that will surround him.
“I think we’ve got a few here that we’re looking at during this camp,” Payton said. “I feel really good about our group of veterans that are here in the building. When we signed Samaje, this is a guy that gave us flexibility. We know that he can play and be an every-down back. Our current starter (Javonte Williams) is doing extremely well. I would tell you that we expect him to be ready for the start of training camp and that’s good news. His rehab is going well. I don’t want to speak for him or Beau (Lowery) or anyone else, but we get the daily reports. We’re pretty tight-lipped relative to information going out, but I’ve read a lot and I think his rehab is going well.”
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