The Denver Broncos have been without WR Courtland Sutton for the offseason thus far, and it's clearly because of his contract situation. Sutton not being present does seem to be an issue with each passing day he is not there. Well, it's not like the Denver Broncos don't have other WRs on the roster.
In fact, not only should they get Tim Patrick back, but they signed Josh Reynolds, and drafted Troy Franklin. Even if by some off chance Courtland Sutton is not with the team to begin the season, Denver should end up being fine. At least, that's the hope. As you can expect, head coach Sean Payton was asked about Sutton again, and he had an interesting response:
Sean Payton was asked if Courtland Sutton is not at the Broncos offseason workout program because of wanting a new contract:
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) June 4, 2024
“It’s not because he doesn’t like the new uniforms”
🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/S2lbSAJgir pic.twitter.com/cIszv9X0sC
— DNVR Broncos (@DNVR_Broncos) June 4, 2024
Getting some laughs from the media members, Payton is clearly trying to downplay this situation, and frankly, I do not blame him. But also, it does seem that he's also not worried about this issue at all. That makes me think that the Broncos and Sutton could actively be involved in some sort of extension or pay raise talks.
He's not got the arguement for $20 million per season, but something around $16 million per year would end up being a more fitting place for Sutton to end up at if he were to be extended. If Courtland Sutton is in the picture for the Broncos, the offense will be better. So yeah, to an extent, it'll be a negative if Sutton isn't there.
But the Denver Broncos should not jump through hula-hoops to try and fix this situation. At the end of the day, Sutton turns 29 years old in October and is not a 1,000-yard wide receiver anymore, so the Broncos would probably not be losing a ton of production.
Perhaps in the coming weeks, the Broncos and Courtland Sutton will be able to work something out.