Courtland Sutton makes shockingly honest statement about contract situation

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton made his way back out to the practice field for mandatory minicamp in June, ending (at least for the moment) his unofficial contract holdout. Sutton had been training in Florida during the rest of Denver Broncos voluntary OTAs, though the team never really seemed concerned about his rather extended absence.

Sutton has two years remaining on his contract and it has been made abundantly clear through media reports that he wants a raise from the team. He's got just $2 million of guaranteed cash left on those final two years, and with the receiver market ramping up significantly, Sutton wants a raise while he's still under the age of 30.

Understandable.

On his first day back with the team, Sutton met with a scrum of media members and made some shockingly honest admissions about the state of his current contract negotiations.

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton brutally honest about contract situation

"My team and I have been in contact with the guys upstairs that handle all of that stuff. We've kind of been going back and forth to try to find the best way to find the middle ground for the situation. We are at a stalemate in a sense, but I have confidence and faith that the right thing will be done."

- Courtland Sutton

So perhaps we should call this more of a "hold-in" for Sutton? He did his part by showing up, even though he would have been subject to fines from the team for any unexcused absences. But by showing up in the first place, Sutton is showing that he's putting the team first. He could continue to make life difficult for the Broncos, especially with a rookie quarterback, by holding out and accepting fines.

That obviously didn't happen, and Sutton is out there for mandatory minicamp. And from what he said in his media scrum, it sounds like there's perhaps a mutual understanding between he and the Broncos of next steps that will be taken contractually.

Sutton also made it very clear that he wants to be around for the team's hopeful resurgence:

"I hope so. I hope that I am a part of the bigger picture. I’ve been told that is what the gameplan is. I’ve also been told some other things. We will see what happens. I hope I am able to be a part of the gameplan. I also don’t see that it will be a soft reset. I’m praying and also working towards and hopefully stay in guys’ ears that this is not going to be a three-year process. We want to win right now."

- Courtland Sutton

Having Courtland Sutton makes this team better. It's possible we could see the best version of his game yet with Bo Nix at the helm. Hopefully, he and the Broncos are able to work something out so both parties are satisfied going forward.