Broncos sign WR Darrius Shepherd after losing WR Tim Patrick to injury

The Denver Broncos confirmed inevitable news on Wednesday and announced that wide receiver Tim Patrick and backup running back Damarea Crockett were officially placed on injured reserve and will miss the upcoming NFL season due to the torn ACL injuries they suffered on Tuesday. Denver added undrafted free-agent rookie running back Max Borghi in a corresponding move but still had one remaining roster gap. 

That's no longer the case thanks to somebody familiar with Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett. 

Per Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' website, the club signed wide receiver Darrius Shepherd to their 90-man roster on Thursday. 

Shepherd initially entered the league as an undrafted free agent who was signed by the Green Bay Packers in 2019 when Hackett was serving as that team's offensive coordinator. In total, Shepherd appeared in 14 games with Green Bay over the subsequent two seasons and tallied six catches for 47 yards. He also returned kicks for the Packers and, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, averaged 18.7 yards on 20 kickoff returns.

Shepherd later had cups of coffee with the Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers but never logged any snaps with those teams. Most recently, the 26-year-old featured for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League this spring.

As Kevin Patra noted for the NFL's website, Hackett named tight ends Albert Okwuegbunam and Greg Dulcich as individuals who must step up in Patrick's absence on Wednesday. Perhaps Shepherd will be able to use this opportunity to find a long-term football home beyond August.