Although many (present company included) held out hope that the Denver Broncos could quickly turn things around under new head coach Sean Payton, it's apparent that things actually could get worse before they got better. The Broncos suffered a 70-20 loss in Miami against Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, the worst loss I have ever witnessed in basically any professional sport.
The Denver Broncos were already the laughingstock of the NFL before, and now, it will be open season, especially after such strong words this offseason from head coach Sean Payton. Payton was (regrettably) critical of Nathaniel Hackett's coaching job last season, and publicly apologized for his comments after they went viral in the sports media world. But like toothpaste can't be put back in its tube, words can't exactly be taken back once they've been spoken and Payton made some bold comments.
Not only are the Denver Broncos 0-3 to start off this season, but it's also clear that this team lacks true building blocks moving forward. They might have to trade what little they have to teams in contending mode who might get desperate enough to trade the Broncos good draft picks for some of the players currently on this roster. And as of right now, nobody is off limits on this Denver roster.
Let's look at five players that could be traded in a potential fire sale for the Broncos after the disastrous loss to the Dolphins.
5 players the Denver Broncos could trade in a fire sale after Dolphins blowout
1. Pat Surtain II, CB
I'm not saying this for shock factor, but truly no one on the Denver Broncos is going to be untouchable if the team goes into fire sale mode. Although I will qualify this by saying -- the Denver Broncos can't just give away Pat Surtain nor do I think they should trade him in-season unless they are absolutely blown away with an offer.
The reason for that is simple -- you can't trade Surtain in-season and not know what pick(s) you would be getting in return. Too much can happen between the trade deadline and the end of the season. Trading Surtain for, say, the 28th pick in the 1st round would end up looking like a foolish decision based on his value.
But after the season, I think it's fair game, depending on what happens. Surtain is one of the Broncos' best players, but he could also help them recoup a lot of NFL Draft assets. I wouldn't be surprised if his name starts popping up.