August 2 Training Camp Notes: Broncos WR Tim Patrick suffers season-ending torn ACL, Dolphins lose draft picks and more

Dolphins docked 1st- and 3rd- round picks for tampering with Sean Payton, Tom Brady

• The NFL ruled that the Dolphins had “impermissible communications” with Tom Brady in 2019-20 while he was under contract with the New England Patriots, and then again during and after the 2021 season while he was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• The league also ruled that the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Don Yee, the agent for Saints head coach Sean Payton, about having Payton serve as Miami's head coach.
• Miami owned two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, their own and the other via the San Francisco 49ers from the Trey Lance trade. Their own is the pick being docked.
• Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross was also suspended through Oct. 17 and fined $1.5 million, while vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal also was fined $500,000 and ordered not to attend any league meetings for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Broncos WR Tim Patrick suffers torn ACL, out for 2022 season

• Patrick went down with a non-contact injury and had to be carted off the field. An MRI confirmed the Broncos' fears of a torn ACL.
• Patrick started 16 games last season and tallied 53 receptions, 734 yards and five touchdowns. He earned a 71.2 PFF grade.
• He signed a three-year contract extension worth up to $34.5 million with $18.5 million guaranteed last November.
• This is now the third straight season that a Broncos receiver has gone down with a torn ACL. It happened to Courtland Sutton in 2020 and to KJ Hamler last season.

Saints sign TE Chris Herndon

• Herndon spent last season with the Vikings after being acquired for a fourth-round pick from the New York Jets.
• He appeared in 16 games but had only four receptions for 40 yards and one touchdown. He earned a 52.6 PFF grade, the lowest mark of his career.
• His most productive season was his rookie year in 2018 when he earned a 74.8 PFF grade and recorded 39 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns.
• He’ll join a tight end room led by Nick Vannett, Adam Trautman and Taysom Hill.

S Jordan Poyer to miss some time with an elbow injury

• Poyer suffered a hyperextended elbow and will be sidelined for the rest of camp. The team expects him to be ready for Week 1 vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
• Poyer was voted a first-team All-Pro last season and graded out very well — a 78.2 overall grade and an 89.2 coverage grade.
• The 31-year-old has also wanted a new contract from the Bills and recently switched agents to Drew Rosenhaus. He’s entering the final year of his deal and is scheduled to make $6.7 million.

Vikings TE Irv Smith to miss time with thumb injury

• Head coach Kevin O’Connell said Smith underwent surgery on his thumb and will likely miss the rest of camp. The team is not ruling him out for the start of the season.
• Smith missed all of last season with a torn meniscus suffered in camp.
• The former second-round pick out of Alabama has 66 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns over his first two NFL seasons and finished 2020 with a 70.0 PFF grade.

Jerry Jones: “There's no urgency to get a veteran receiver”

• The Cowboys already moved on from Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson this offseason and just lost receiver James Washington for the next two months after he suffered a fractured foot in Monday’s practice.
• They’re also going to be without receiver Michael Gallup for the start of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered late last season.
• Third-round rookie Jalen Tolbert is currently the next man up for Dallas behind CeeDee Lamb.