The Denver Broncos will likely upgrade their wide receiver room this offseason, but this deal may have made that quest a lot harder. This just doesn't play into the Broncos hands much at all. Here is a bit of news that broke on Thursday regarding Los Angeles Rams wide receiver, Tutu Atwell:
Rams and wide receiver Tutu Atwell reached agreement on a one-year, $10 million fully-guaranteed contract. The deal was negotiated by Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. pic.twitter.com/LyJELUpaHN
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2025
$10 million a year for Tutu Atwell?
Now yes, I understand that this is only a one-year deal, but this is a fully-guaranteed $10 million. That is a pretty penny for a player who caught 42 passes for 562 yards and zero touchdowns in the 2024 NFL Season. The Denver Broncos are going to dip into the WR market this coming offseason, as their are a ton of names who could provide a boost to this offense.
Furthermore, the NFL Draft class isn't all that deep at WR, so teams may be looking more toward FA or trades to boost the room. Among all the wide receivers available to some degree, some of the top names include Brandon Aiyuk, Davante Adams, DK Metcalf, Amari Cooper, Darius Slayton, and many others.
The bad thing here with this contract that Atwell somehow got is that it may only elevate the cost for these other wide receivers.
And now, all of a sudden, a player in Darius Slayton who may have cost $12 million per year on the open market may now cost more like $15 million per year. Davante Adams may have initially cost $18 million on a one or two-year deal, but he may see Atwell's contract and could want $21 million per year.
The Denver Broncos do need to find a true no. 1 wide receiver, and they also may want to extend Courtland Sutton for another year or two. I guess the good thing for the Broncos here is that all of Marvin Mims Jr, Troy Franklin, and Devaughn Vele are on their rookie deals. The team does have the space to spend big-time money at the position, but Tutu Atwell's deal does make most every other WR on the market more expensive.
Adding a TE1 and RB1 are going to be more important for this offense in the 2025 NFL Offseason, but most Broncos fans could see that the WR room needed another body, as Josh Reynolds didn't work out for the team at the end of the day.
The Broncos quest to upgrade the WR room definitely got a bit harder.