Tom Pelissero is reporting on X that WR Courtland Sutton has agreed to a restructured contract with the Denver Broncos.
Sutton had initially held out of some of the spring practices while seeking a reworked contract to raise his pay to be more in line with the inflating wide receiver market around the league. This led to speculation about him being a possible trade candidate for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their need for a starting wide receiver opposite George Pickens.
It made sense at the time. Courtland Sutton had just spent two years with Russell Wilson in Denver, and he was a more affordable trade target than a guy like Brandon Aiyuk, for example. Now that his deal is restructured, the idea of trading for him can likely be put to rest.
Sutton was reportedly looking for $15-$16 million per season, and he appears to be set up to receive what he asked for. The deal will pay him up to $15.2 million this season with a $1.5 million incentive package, per Pelissero.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton had maintained the posture throughout the offseason of Sutton remaining with the Broncos and the two sides reaching some sort of agreement. Sutton reported to training camp on time, and now he has what he was looking for to remain with the Broncos. They traded WR Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason, so it never made a ton of sense for them to part ways with their other top receiving target for rookie QB Bo Nix.
If the Steelers want to acquire a starting WR via trade, their options are starting to dwindle. Aiyuk is still on the market after requesting a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. He reported to camp, but is holding in. He officially requested a trade in the week leading up to training camp.
For now, the Steelers are operating at training camp with the players available to them on the roster. Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III, and Van Jefferson appear to be the leading candidates to compete for the WR2 position.
