In what could be one of the biggest NFL trades ever, Albert Breer seems to leave the door open for the Denver Broncos to trade their best player this coming offseason. Some have argued that it would make no sense to trade the best player on the team, but I think a good enough offer from a team is something the Broncos should consider.
Think about it; yes, Patrick Surtain II is the best DB in football. However, the Broncos still have the worst total defense in the NFL. The defense is actually historically bad, and Surtain can only do so much. The secondary as a unit is just bad, and PS2 cannot do everything on defense. The Broncos aren't really reaping the total benefits with the best CB in football, but that is not his fault.
If Denver got a similar haul for Surtain as the Jacksonville Jaguars got for Jalen Ramsey; two first-round picks and a mid-round pick, then Denver should be all over that deal. The Broncos could have the potential to get two very good starters with those two first-round picks at other positions along the defensive side of the ball.
Denver is in desperate need of picks. They do have their own first-round pick this year, but they do not have a second-round pick. Surtain is their most valuable asset. He is due for the likely richest DB contract in NFL history, but he's also still just 23 years old and has his entire career ahead of him. The Denver Broncos could keep him and make him a rich man next offseason, but the best long-term play might be to trade him. Here's what Breer had to say about the situation with PS2 and the Denver Broncos:
" The trade deadline is coming, and after what Sean Payton said the other day—conceding that the Broncos would listen to offers for their players—Denver is a team to watch.Albert Breer
Denver will listen, as Payton said, on pretty much anyone, and that puts receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton in the spotlight. The price to start a serious discussion on Jeudy predraft was a first-round pick, and on Sutton it was a second-round pick. Sutton is due the prorated remainder of his $14 million base for this year (there’s $9.33 million left now) and is under contract for $27.5 million over the next two years. Jeudy, meanwhile, has $1.79 million left this year and is owed a guaranteed $12.887 million for next year.
Left tackle Garett Bolles, who’s voiced his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in Denver, is another one on offense who could elicit calls.
On defense, both safety Justin Simmons and linebacker Josey Jewell have value. The former is making a prorated chunk of $14.4 million this year ($9.6 million left), and has a nonguaranteed $14.5 million coming in the final year of his deal. Jewell, a tough, smart off-ball linebacker, has less than $3 million left this year, plus some nominal per-game roster bonuses, and is a free agent in March.
Then, of course, there’s Patrick Surtain II. The Broncos have already gotten calls on him, of course. It’s pretty unlikely that Denver would trade (arguably) the best corner in the league, who has a year and a half left on his rookie deal, plus a team option for 2025, and doesn’t turn 24 until April.
But the whole thing is the Broncos simply need picks to build up their roster after consecutive drafts stripped them of selections due to the Russell Wilson trade. And with their second-round pick in 2024 gone as part of the Sean Payton trade (which also cost Denver the first-rounder it got from Miami for Bradley Chubb). Which is why my sense is Denver is going to at least be in on everyone."
Breer says that the Broncos have already gotten calls on Patrick Surtain II. Teams who called the Broncos about Surtain may just be ready to give up an absolute haul for the player. It would be a gut-wrenching move for the Broncos to make, but this team is more than just a CB away from being good. This roster is bad, and the team has needs on both sides of the ball. Potentially getting two first-round picks for PS2, likely in 2024 and 2025, would give Denver three first-rounders over the next two drafts.
That, my friends, is a ton of draft compensation.