It appears official.
Despite some uncertainty after missing OTAs in hopes of a contract renegotiation, the Denver Broncos’ leading wide receiver for the 2023 season will once again be donning blue and orange on Sundays.
Appearing on the DNVR Sports podcast on Thursday, Courtland Sutton confirmed that he indeed intends to be present at the team’s mandatory minicamp next week.
Sutton’s absence was due to his desire for what initially appeared to be a moderate adjustment for a pay increase, but there was also speculation that the new deal received by Jaylen Waddle of the Miami Dolphins could persuade him to see what he could get elsewhere from a team not so cash-strapped like the Broncos.
Sutton put all that to rest Thursday, so it stands to reason that he and the team have worked out the contract issues and will be all business moving forward.
Yet, what reasoning could’ve been behind Sutton’s decision to come to an agreement?
Despite suffering injuries on and off throughout his seven-year career, he has yet to play with any QB long enough to establish legitimate chemistry, and despite that, when healthy, is one of the most productive receivers in the AFC, particularly in the red zone.
There are certainly contenders out there who could use an end zone threat like Sutton, who had ten receiving touchdowns last season, and there are also teams who may not be contenders but have enough cap space to pay him more than the Broncos could afford.
So why the end to the will they/won’t they so abrubtly?
It could just be that he doesn’t want to fined six figures for missing the three-day camp just to gamble on another team swooping in to grab him. It also could be that his agent did indeed do some shopping around and discovered that while teams could use his services, they wouldn’t be able to pay more than Denver, his home for the past seven years (another reason he may have given preference to the Broncos).
Again, though, this is a legitimate NFL starting wide receiver with immense talent that has been consistently kept too often at bay due to erratic and inconsistent QB play.
Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater, Jeff Driskel, Russell Wilson, Jarrett Stidham...and likely someone I’m missing. That isn’t normal to have to re-establish chemistry so often with a signal caller, so it is completely understandable if he would have wished to go to a much more secure QB situation.
Yet, what if (and the optimism card is VERY much being played here) he views the Broncos situation as now secure?
Bo Nix has been getting good reviews thus far in his showings this offseason, even if he is going through traditional rookie bumps along the way, but Sutton has had a chance to talk with the rookie QB and may have just heard enough to buy in.
“Bo brings a lot of good qualities to our team in terms of the QB position,” Sutton said on the podcast. “Whenever the conversation (about drafting Nix) came about and we made the pick, I was excited to see that I would get to work with him. He does a lot of good things on the field...he has that leader mentality, that aura, that he walks with.”
While Sutton has yet to speak with Nix in person, only via phone, he said he came away impressed with the way he carried himself on and off the field while at Oregon and recognized his character.
It still remains quite the long shot that the Broncos become legitimate contenders during Nix’s first season, but having an established, consistently productive starting receiver like Sutton to lean on is something every rookie needs, and Nix now has.
Despite the fact the team will more than likely be playing the long game with Nix, it’s important to remember Sutton is still just 28 years old and still has plenty of tank in the gas. He still has long-term plans in the NFL, and if he is buying in on Nix being the guy to help him carry out those plans, that is good news indeed for the future of the Denver Broncos.
Broncos/NFL News
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