ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Wide receiver Tim Patrick has torn his left Achilles tendon, Head Coach Sean Payton announced Tuesday.
"I spoke to him last night," Payton said. "Of course he's disappointed. My understanding was a year ago almost to the day [was when he hurt his knee]. I think the hard thing — and I said it yesterday — [is he's] a player that spent most of his offseason rehabbing and then all of a sudden to hit another roadblock. He sounded better last night. He's tough-minded. He's a real good leader."
Payton said Patrick suffered a "clean injury" and that there's a "better than likely" chance he will make a "100 percent recovery."
Patrick will undergo surgery for the injury, but Payton said he didn't yet know when it would occur.
Wide receiver KJ Hamler, meanwhile, could later return to football after treating a mild heart irritation.
"His [situation] is unique, and it's [a] unique condition," Payton said. "We had a long visit with him. With him, the good news is we feel like — I don't want to put a prognosis or timeline on it, but approximately a month. Probably another couple weeks to get in football shape. We're hopeful that once the symptoms dissipate and he's cleared, that leaves us a lot of options. We spent a lot of time with he and his agent, coming up with the best plan. We feel like we have a good one."
In a procedural move, Denver waived Hamler with a Non-Football Illness designation on Monday.
Payton said it was important for him and General Manager George Paton to visit with both Patrick and Hamler, given the adversity they've faced over the last year.
"Look, all of us when you get ready for a break, a rehab, you want to know there's a light at the end of the tunnel," Payton said. "It's important that they hear that from me and George."
