$7 Million Starter Named in New Round of Broncos Trade Rumors

Getty Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos watches action before facing the New Orleans Saints.

The Denver Broncos have one more game before the trade deadline on November 5.

Opinions about what the Broncos should do before then have run the gambit from selling to standing pat to buying. Their 5-3 record suggests the former is a long shot, but trade interest in some wide receiver Courtland Sutton has continued into the season.

Sutton was a popular trade candidate during the offseason amid a holdout. Heis one of the subjects of a new batch of intel from SportsKeeda’s Tony Pauline.

“Sources close to the situation believe there’s a 50/50 chance the Denver Broncos move Courtland Sutton.” Pauline wrote on October 29. “The 2018 second-round pick whose name always comes up as trade bait, has been a favorite target of Bo Nix this season, as the team is a surprising 5-3 at the midway point.”

“In the past, the Broncos have received calls on Courtland Sutton and have always rebuffed offers,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on October 30. “But it has been a very aggressive receiver market this fall, so you never know.”

Sutton, 29, has 29 receptions for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns through eight weeks.

He recorded the first 100-yard game by a receiver in 2024 in Week 8 versus the Carolina Panthers.

The Broncos lost WR2 Josh Reynolds (12-183-1) to injured reserve with a finger injury, and he was shot in Denver after the team’s Week 7 road matchup against the New Orleans Saints, though the extent of those injuries has not been disclosed.

He is eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 10.

Without Reynolds, the Broncos have turned to rookie fourth-round pick Troy Franklin. Franklin and Lil’Jordan Humphrey have 32 receptions for 293 yards and 1 touchdown on the season.

Finances a Likely Factor in Courtland Sutton’s Future With Broncos Amid New Trade Speculation

The No. 40 overall pick of the draft by the Broncos in 2018 and a Pro Bowler in 2019, Sutton is in the third year of a four-year, $60 million contract. The Broncos re-worked the deal, essentially making it a two-year, $27.5 million contract with a $7.8 million cap hit in 2024.

That is a key note as Sutton’s future could gain more clarity after the season.

“Sutton is likely to renegotiate his contract after the season, as he has a base salary of $13.5 million and a cap hit of $20.1 million in the final year of his deal in 2025,” Pauline wrote.

“While teams have been calling on Sutton, the Broncos are in no rush to give him away and won’t deal the wideout unless the offer is right and they feel they can improve their team moving forward.”

The Broncos have $1.7 million in cap space ahead of the trade deadline, per Over The Cap.

They can save $9.8 million against the cap with an extension for Sutton after the season when he will have one year left on his contract.

A trade before the deadline would incur a $19.5 million deal cap hit. The Broncos are already dealing with a $53 million charge from cutting Russell Wilson and owe another $35 million in 2025. But it will be easier to decide on Sutton then.

Sutton also made one of the lowlights of the Broncos’ win over the Panthers.

He fumbled the ball at the goal line in the fourth quarter. The Panther drove the length of the field for a touchdown, though it was still a two-score game.

Panthers punter Johnny Hekker’s onside kick attempt drew a penalty for going out of bounds. Broncos QB Bo Nix kneeled and ran the clock out for the win. Still, Broncos head coach Sean Payton lamented that fumble and one from Humphrey and Carolina’s 10-play, 98-yard march.

Sean Payton Calls Out Courtland Sutton, Lil’Jordan Humphrey

“Here’s the thing: we can’t turn the ball over the way we did offensively, alright? We can’t fumble on the first drive, we can’t fumble later in the game. And I put up some numbers for these guys just to see where we’re at relative to the season, relative to history, relative to –. And so it’s not the perfect game we’re searching for. But it’s the game that we know when we play with bigger stakes against a better team, that it’ll cost you,” Payton told reporters on October 28.

“We have to be better at that. And so the turnovers bothered me the late drive and how we played defensively bothered me. And look, I just think that – what’s the bar? What’s the expectation? And it has to it has to meet or exceed mine.”

The Broncos face the Baltimore Ravens – who did make a trade – in Week 9.

The Ravens boast the NFL’s second-best scoring offense and acquired former Panthers wide receiver Dionte Johnson on October 29.

Fortunately for Sutton and the Broncos, the Ravens have surrendered the seventh-most points. That could allow Nix and Co. to continue expanding their offense. Payton said they are close to some explosive plays the unit has missed. The trade deadline is on November 5.