One of many injuries the Broncos have had to deal with in 2022 is the ACL tear suffered by linebacker Aaron Patrick during an October Monday Night Football game against the Chargers. That came as a result of a collision between the special teamer and a member of an ESPN TV crew member, and has now led to legal action being taken.
Patrick is suing a long list of individuals and entities which includes the NFL, ESPN, the Rams and Chargers, the owners and operators of SoFi Stadium, and the crew worker he collided with. As detailed by Mike Klis of 9News, the 25-year-old is seeking unlimited civil damages and is aiming for a jury trial. Patrick, a former UDFA, lost between $200K and $400K in 2022 pay according to his attorneys, and some of his 2023 salary ($940K) could be at risk depending on the success of his rehab.
As the filing claims, Patrick’s injury came about due to the location of not only the crew member, but the mats in place to cover TV cables near the sideline. That has resulted in the long list of defendants, though none of them initially commented on the situation, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
Here are some other AFC notes, including another legal update:
- The Jaguars endured a disastrous 2021 campaign under head coach Urban Meyer, a short-lived spell which included an alleged kicking incident with then-kicker Josh Lambo. The latter sued the team this past May regarding the work environment in Jacksonville under Meyer, but that suit has been tossed out of court (Twitter link via Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic). As Kaplan notes, though, the judge overseeing the case has given Lambo the opportunity to re-file the suit.
- Devin Bush was a talking point throughout the offseason for the Steelers, since the team’s decision to decline his fifth-year option puts him in line for free agency in March. That has led to an expectation the former first-round linebacker will depart in 2023, though he has remained a full-time starter this season. An improvement in play this year – during which the Michigan product has totaled 62 tackles and played every defensive snap last week – can be attributed to Pittsburgh’s new LBs coach, Brian Flores, per The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly (subscription required). In spite of that, however, Kaboly still predicts that Bush will receive no more than a cursory contract offer from the Steelers and ultimately head elsewhere during the spring.
So kickers can be kicked and assaulted with impunity? I imagine things would be much different if a coach tried to pull that s–t on Tom Brady. NFL hypocrisy is alive and well.