What’s going to happen with Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton over the course of the next several weeks, and specifically after June 1? Will the Broncos cave and give him more money, or will they ultimately trade him? Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network was recently a guest on KOA Radio in Denver and he was asked his thoughts on Sutton’s current situation with the Broncos and if he thinks the team is trending toward trading him.
“You know, I don’t feel like he’s trending toward a trade,” Rapoport said of Sutton. “I don’t know if it’s trending any way, but if something does happen, probably more resolution than anything. And I don’t even know that his ask is that much, and I think he just wants to be there.
“You know, I think [Courtland Sutton] saw some of his friends leave and he wants maybe a little bit more, maybe a little more guaranteed money. You know, you could do that in a couple different ways. You can do that in a form of an extension. You can do it like the Raiders did with Maxx Crosby, where you just give him more money knowing that it’s gonna make him happier and kind of reward a guy who deserves it. There’s different ways you can do it, but I would imagine there’s a resolution in there somewhere that could make all sides pretty happy.”
In short, Rapoport doesn’t get the sense that Sutton will be traded and that the two sides will eventually come to some sort of resolution that will allow the wide receiver to remain in Denver at least through the 2024 season.
Overall, Rapoport’s thoughts on Sutton aren’t outlandish at all, especially if we are to believe that the wide receiver is only looking for a slight bump in 2024 pay like ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier this month.
“The Denver Broncos have been speaking with Sutton and his representatives,” Fowler reported on May 18. “No real progress yet, so even though they were hoping he shows up for OTAs, he very well might not be there. He is due about $13.6 million in cash this year. He’d like to see that get up maybe in that $15, $16 million range. We’ll see if they can find a sweet spot.”
As I passed along in a post a few days ago, Sutton, according to Over the Cap, is scheduled to make $13,570,588 in 2024, with just $2 million of that fully guaranteed. The max he can earn in 2024 if he plays in every game is $13.6 million. Sutton is also scheduled to earn a max of $14 million in 2025, the final year of his contract.
Around the NFL this offseason, several wide receivers have been getting paid big money with the most recent one being Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle on Thursday morning. According to Pro Football Talk, Waddle is signing a three-year contract extension with the Dolphins that will make him one of the league’s highest-paid receivers. The deal is reportedly worth $84.75 million with $76 million in guarantees and $35,979,546 of that being fully guaranteed.
Courtland Sutton has a new money average of $15 million after signing his extension in November 2021. In the last two seasons, Sutton has caught 123 passes for 1601 yards and 12 touchdowns. If you’re scoring at home, 31 other wide receivers caught more passes than Sutton did the last two seasons and 31 also registered more receiving yards than him as well during that span. In short, it’s probably going to be tough for Sutton to get a huge increase in 2024 cash from the Broncos.
If Sutton is indeed as happy in Denver right now as Rapoport seems to think he is, it’s hard to imagine the two sides not coming to some sort of resolution, especially if the bump in cash he wants in 2024 is indeed as modest as Fowler recently reported.
In closing, Sutton’s situation is only being followed by us right now due to speculation that the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a potential suitor for him if indeed the Broncos were willing to move him. To date, however, there has not been any real indication that the Broncos might be looking to trade Sutton. In the meantime, June 1 is almost here, and if the Broncos were to trade Sutton, such a transaction would likely happen after that date passes. Sutton, in the meantime, is still reportedly not attending OTAs and it’s hard to know for sure if he plans on showing up for mandatory minicamp a few weeks from now.
