3 players the Broncos can trade in 2023 if the season gets out of hand

3 players the Broncos can trade in 2023 if the season gets out of hand

3. Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick, WR

Two players that could be off the team quicker than people think are Courtland Sutton, who was nearly traded to the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, and Tim Patrick, who turns 30 this season and is returning from a torn ACL. Both Sutton and Patrick have somewhat similar skill sets as big-bodied targets who can separate.

However, Sutton has clearly regressed to a WR2 role since his Pro Bowl 2019 season, and Tim Patrick is getting older and is a WR3 for the Broncos. Denver would still have Jerry Jeudy, Marvin Mims Jr, and perhaps Marquez Callaway on the roster, so I don't think this would totally ruin their WR room. Wide receivers are a must in today's NFL, so there would surely be multiple teams who would want one or both of these players to help them along in a playoff push.

In terms of cap savings, here is what we have:

The Broncos would save $14.4 million in 2023 and $13.5 million in 2024 if they traded Courtland Sutton this season. They'd also save $8 million in 2023 and $9.9 million in 2024 by trading Patrick. Again, more significant cap savings for the Denver Broncos. It would be hard to see such important culture pieces getting traded, but that would be the name of the game here.

Why would the Denver Broncos keep rostering certain veteran players if their season is a wash? This happens every year in the NFL, and the Broncos have done it before, trading Emmanuel Sanders and Von Miller in recent years. Some veterans obviously make more sense to be traded. I don't think Denver would trade someone like Jerry Jeudy in 2023 unless they got a huge offer.

However, I think these players could all be moved in 2023.