Whatever the Denver Broncos are doing behind the scenes, it's good. The Broncos have a number of key players on the roster in contract situations, and not a single one of them is making a fuss about it. And we're not just talking about players who might be intriguing to other teams if they hit free agency, we're talking about some of the best players in the league at their respective positions.
Courtland Sutton, Zach Allen, Nik Bonitto, and John Franklin-Myers are the four most notable current Denver Broncos players entering the final years of their contracts, and players of similar caliber in similar situations elsewhere in the league have gone public with their issues. That, in and of itself, is indicative that things are not going great behind the scenes, because players use that public perception to drive up their value and back teams into a proverbial corner.
The Broncos avoided certain disaster with Courtland Sutton, specifically, which has, in turn, benefited quarterback Bo Nix. It's crucial to have your #1 receiver out there at training camp, and the Washington Commanders haven't been able to achieve the same thing with their disgruntled receiver, Terry McLaurin.
Broncos have perfect attendance at training camp
Bobby Wagner on Terry McLaurin’s absence - “It’s a business, and some business isn’t your business…When it gets done we will celebrate with him” pic.twitter.com/wwwU9fo9VG
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) July 23, 2025
Things are bad enough for McLaurin and the Commanders that the receiver isn't showing up to training camp, which is actually costing him money since camp is mandatory. At some point, he'll certainly be back in the fold, but every single day out there matters for a team like the Commanders, looking to build off of the success they had a season ago.
And that's a huge advantage in favor of the Broncos. The Broncos have figured out a way to have productive contract talks behind the scenes to the point that Sutton (and the rest of the aforementioned players) don't feel like they have to hold out of training camp in order to make their point.
That speaks to the negotiating style of general manager George Paton as well as the focus of these players being solely on the team.
Cornerback Pat Surtain II discussed that when he met with the media on July 22 that the team is full of selfless guys who care about winning, and that couldn't be more true. When you have players who deserve to get paid in the midst of contract negotiations, it often gets contentious enough that those guys decide it's worth the financial investment to sit out of training camp, but not for the Broncos.
And that's extremely important for a young quarterback like Bo Nix. The Broncos don't want to imagine life without Courtland Sutton at this point given how young that receiver position is, and Nix needs him out there to keep building chemistry and improving an offense that somehow ranked 10th in the league in scoring last year despite plenty of struggles with dropped passes, three-and-outs, and no running game.
Whatever the Broncos are doing, other teams in the NFL should take note.