The very unfortunate reality of the Denver Broncos right now is this -- a fire sale could be coming. The Broncos are 1-4 heading into their Thursday night matchup in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs. With the very real possibility of facing a 1-5 record in just over 24 hours (from the time of this post being written), there are a handful of prominent players who could be playing in their last game with the team.
Due to the Broncos making a number of major trades in recent years, the team needs to recoup some NFL Draft capital and they could do their best to collect picks for the 2024 NFL Draft and beyond. Again, it's the unfortunate reality of the team. We're not talking about a 3-2 team that could jump to 4-2 and a tie for first place in the AFC West with Kansas City. We're talking about a team that is competing for one of the top three picks in next year's draft.
If the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, a number of notable players will likely be on the move, but who? Let's take a look at four to watch for.
4 Denver Broncos players who could be gone if the team loses to Chiefs
1. Courtland Sutton, WR
I think one of the most obvious candidates on the Denver Broncos to be traded right now is wide receiver Courtland Sutton. The Broncos got calls on Sutton during the offseason, and they decided not to trade him because none of the offers were good enough, apparently. I wonder if those offers are the same, better, or worse at this point. Sutton has done some nice things for the Broncos this year but is clearly not the WR1 type that we once thought he could be back in 2019.
Sutton is a good player, though, and if the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, I think he'll have some decent value on the trade market. The Broncos will undoubtedly be forced to pay some of Sutton's remaining salary, which should drive up the price in a trade a little bit. We see other receivers getting traded for future late-round pick swaps, but the Broncos aren't dumping Sutton so much as they are reloading/rebuilding. They don't have to trade him. and if other teams want him, they'll have to make compelling offers.
2. Jerry Jeudy, wide receiver
Another wide receiver on the Denver Broncos right now who could be on the move after this Kansas City game, depending on the result, is wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. The Broncos haven't quite involved Jeudy like anyone hoped they would when he was selected with the 15th overall pick back in 2020, but the combination of injuries, bad play-calling, and circumstances surrounding him have seemingly preserved his value.
I'm not sure the Broncos could get a second-round pick for Jerry Jeudy at this point, but it all depends on how badly another team wants him and how many teams are competing for his services.
Jeudy has proven himself to be an elite-level route runner. He can create separation in man coverage with ease, and does an awesome job of making plays after the catch. Many fans in Denver criticize Jeudy for an issue with dropped passes, but that hasn't truly been an "issue" since his rookie season back in 2020. Jeudy has corrected that problem, and has been a nice big-play threat when the Broncos actually make it a point to involve him in the offense.
I wouldn't say I'm the biggest proponent of trading Jerry Jeudy. In fact, if you were to ask me to pick sides, I would say I'm team don't trade Jerry Jeudy. But the Broncos might be able to get a couple of decent draft selections for him and they obviously are going to ramp up Marvin Mims's role in the offense as the season goes along.
If the right offer comes along, I could see this being Jerry Jeudy's last game in Denver.
3. Frank Clark, EDGE
If the Denver Broncos can make a pick-swap for Randy Gregory happen with some team, then they can make something happen with Frank Clark. This situation reminds me a little bit of when the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Melvin Ingram back in the 2021 season, it didn't work out for them, and they wound up trading him to Kansas City.
And then upon arriving in Kansas City, Ingram obviously played very well.
The Broncos might only be able to get a late-round pick-swap out of Frank Clark at this point, but that also wouldn't be the worst thing. Any sort of value here would be preferable.
On the field, Frank Clark hasn't made the type of impact you would have hoped to see when he got to Denver in the offseason. The Broncos signed Clark after news of Baron Browning having to undergo knee surgery. Now that Browning is closing in on coming back and Clark has done next to nothing, the Broncos might look to trade him to a team just like we saw the Steelers do a few years back with Ingram.
The Broncos seem to be embracing a bit of a youth movement off the edge and regarding Frank Clark, it would be more of a we hardly knew ye than anything else.
4. Justin Simmons, safety
This one would hurt. Justin Simmons has arguably been the Denver Broncos' best player in the post-Peyton Manning era. It's crazy to think about that, but it's also probably true.
I feel like Simmons is a future Ring of Fame player and it's pathetic that the Broncos haven't gotten to any playoff games to see what Simmons could do in those types of game settings and situations. In games that have been big for the Broncos in the last seven years, Simmons has come up huge. He has at least two interceptions every single year he's been in the league, although we're still waiting for his first in 2023.
Last season, Simmons accounted for 10 total turnover plays. He had six interceptions, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
It just so happens that Matt Russell, who was previously with the Denver Broncos' front office, is currently with the Philadelphia Eagles as an advisor to GM Howie Roseman. We already saw the Eagles swing a deal for Broncos TE Albert Okwuegbunam, but perhaps we could see them bring Justin Simmons in the mix for another shot at a Super Bowl.
They were extremely close last year.
It would be sad to see Justin Simmons leave Denver, but at this point, Broncos fans have to be professionally rooting for Simmons to get the chance to actually win something. If the Broncos lose to Kansas City, they would be doing right by Simmons to trade him to a contender.