The Denver Broncos are facing a critical 2023 NFL season. The team knows it has mortgaged quite a bit to get a new quarterback and head coach into the building but that has also limited some of its resources.
Still, the NFL free-agent market is about to open up and that will be the team's first opportunity to improve the roster in order to make a big push this coming season.
So how should the Broncos attack free agency? It is expected that the team will want to be aggressive but it also has to be an attractive landing spot for players. How "attractive" it currently is depends on who you talk to.
As of this writing, the team has about $32.7 million in available cap space, according to Over the Cap. That will allow for some big moves to be made, but the smaller moves are often just as important.
So in this exercise, I will sit in as general manager George Paton and map out what an ideal run through free agency could look like for the Broncos.
Broncos should trade Courtland Sutton and Lloyd Cushenberry
The first order of business will be to part ways with a couple of current players.
Lloyd Cushenberry, who the Broncos took in the third round of the 2020 draft, has not panned out and just doesn't seem to have much of a future with this team. The Broncos should be in the market for a new center and that means they'll need to move on from the old one.
Cushenberry wouldn't bring much of a return, probably a sixth or seventh-round pick, but that would be better than nothing. If the Broncos can't trade him, he will likely just be cut.
The much tougher decision lies with what the team should do with Courtland Sutton.
Only Russell Wilson carries a bigger cap hit in 2023 on the entire team, which is the main reason this idea needs to be considered. Sutton has been good for the team, but he has been far from great.
The dilemma here would be in taking an experienced weapon away from Wilson. The Broncos are not necessarily deep at the wide receiver position and would have to bank of Tim Patrick being back to 100 percent and having a big year for the team. They would also need someone like K.J. Hamler to finally be on the field and contributing.
So, there is some risk in trading Sutton.
But moving him would get back another $6 million in cap savings. The Broncos would eat some dead money in the deal ($11.7 million) but the extra savings could help bring in another player at a position of need.
That said, here are how those two trades could
The Cardinals have a need at center and could give Cushenberry a chance to rejuvenate his career. The Broncos would get a late-round pick in return.
The Cowboys make sense for Sutton as it would give Dak Prescott another solid weapon to go with CeeDee Lamb. Sutton played at SMU in college and would likely enjoy being dealt there as well.
The Broncos would receive the 90th overall pick in the draft, giving them three picks in the third round. They would be wise to use one of those on a replacement for Sutton.
Fans are going to want to see a bigger return for Sutton but realistically, this might be about the most they get back.