The Denver Broncos moved Tuesday to address sudden thinning in their backfield, signing veteran running back Jaret Patterson to the practice squad after placing RJ Harvey on injured reserve with an ankle injury, via the NFL transaction wire.
The addition gives the club a proven professional option while Harvey is sidelined for at least the next three games and fellow back Tyler Badie remains out with a thumb issue.
Patterson, listed at 5-foot-8 and 195 pounds, arrives with six seasons of NFL experience after going undrafted out of the University at Buffalo in 2021.
He began his professional career with the Washington Football Team, later the Commanders, and later spent time with the Los Angeles Chargers. Across 27 games and a handful of starts he has carried 126 times for 503 yards and three touchdowns while adding a modest number of receptions.
Those numbers reflect a career spent largely in a depth or practice-squad role, yet they also underscore a durable, compact runner who has repeatedly earned roster spots through training camps and midseason call-ups.
Patterson’s real claim to distinction, however, rests in the records he established with the Buffalo Bulls from 2018 through 2020.
In three seasons he rushed for 3,884 yards and 52 touchdowns on 636 carries, finishing as the program’s career leader in rushing scores and second in total rushing yards.
He became the first freshman in school history to top 1,000 yards, then followed with consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns.
In 2019, he set single-season Buffalo marks with 1,799 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, numbers that led the Mid-American Conference and ranked among the nation’s best; he matched the 19-touchdown total the following year in a pandemic-shortened six-game schedule.
The signature afternoon arrived on November 28, 2020, against Kent State.
Patterson carried 36 times for 409 yards and eight touchdowns in a 70-41 victory, tying the Football Bowl Subdivision record for rushing scores in a single game and ranking as the second-highest single-game rushing total in major-college history.
He had already run for 301 yards and four scores the week before, becoming the first player in more than two decades to post consecutive 300-yard games.
Those performances, along with a 2019 Bahamas Bowl MVP effort, cemented his place in Buffalo’s record book and earned him All-America recognition.
For the Broncos, Patterson represents immediate depth rather than a long-term starter.
With Jonah Coleman and J.K. Dobbins currently the primary healthy backs on the active roster and Cody Schrader already elevated from the practice squad in recent weeks, the club needed another veteran body capable of handling early-down work if further injuries arise.
Patterson’s size and college production suggest he can still move the chains effectively in short-yardage or change-of-pace situations, even if his NFL résumé has been limited.
Whether the signing is merely insurance or the first step toward a larger role will depend on how quickly Denver’s injured backs return and how the remaining schedule unfolds.
