ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Courtland Sutton considered sending a louder message.
As he trained away from the Denver Broncos during the voluntary portion of the offseason program, rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery while angling for a new contract, a date in the middle of June loomed for the team’s top wide receiver.
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A three-day minicamp at team headquarters in Colorado came with the word “mandatory” attached. If Sutton decided to take a more forceful stand on his side of the negotiating table and remained away from the team, it would cost him more than $100,000 in potential fines in accordance with collective bargaining agreement rules. But it also could have meant more leverage as negotiations continued.
“It was something that was conversed about,” Sutton said Tuesday after ultimately attending the opening day of minicamp. “I wanted to make sure that it was known that, yeah, I was upset about how the contract went about, how the conversation went about, how the stalemate has persisted. But I also wanted it to be known that I love ball. I love the guys.”
Courtland Sutton was in attendance for the first day of Broncos mandatory minicamp. As expected, most of his work came on the side. pic.twitter.com/cbI5txBHC3
— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) June 11, 2024
Sutton still has two years and $26.5 million remaining on the four-year, $60.8 million extension he signed with the Broncos in November 2021, but there are no more guarantees left on the deal after the final $2 million in guarantees triggered in March.
Sutton didn’t share what he’s after in talks he says have reached an impasse, but the guaranteed money is likely a sticking point.
“My team and I have been in contact with the guys upstairs that handle all that (contract) stuff, and we’re kind of going back and forth trying to figure out the best way to kind of find a middle ground for the situation,” Sutton said. “We are at a stalemate, in a sense, but I have confidence and faith that the right thing will be done.”
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Sutton is coming off a season in which he had a career-best 10 touchdown catches, tied for fourth in the NFL. The average annual value on his current contract (about $15 million) ranks 25th among wide receivers, according to Over the Cap. Sutton, entering his seventh season and the team’s longest-tenured player outside of left tackle Garett Bolles, finished 2023 with 59 catches for 772 yards — figures that ranked 41st and 37th.
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His quest for a restructured deal came amid an offseason in which the Broncos cut ties with several of Sutton’s veteran teammates, including quarterback Russell Wilson and fellow wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. They were moves with which Sutton voiced apparent frustration during the offseason.
“I know the people upstairs who make those decisions have a rhyme and reason for why they do it,” Sutton said. “It’s not for us to understand. We’ll probably never understand. The thing that I’ve come to understand with this business that we’re in is (front offices) are always going to say, ‘It’s just business. It isn’t personal.’ So (players) have got to move accordingly.”
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Sutton said “we’ll see” when asked whether he’d consider a training camp holdout of some form if there’s no resolution in his quest for a new contract.
“We’ve got a month to get things situated,” he said. “And hopefully things do get situated because as you all have heard me say, and I’ll continue to say, this is where I want to be. This is home. This is where I want to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. This is the place where I want to be able to retire. … Those are all things that have to be earned, and hopefully, I’m able to have the time to continue to showcase that I’m capable of being that caliber.”
As for the injury, Sutton said he is fully cleared and “feels great.” He said the team was on board with his plan to rehab in Florida after undergoing surgery, and general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton have said they’ve been in contact with Sutton throughout the offseason. His appearance at practice Tuesday was largely limited to stretching with the team and doing conditioning work on a side field. Payton said the team is “being smart” with Sutton as he rejoins the team, and it’s unlikely he’ll have much of an on-field workload as the Broncos progress through their minicamp.
“It’s great having him out there,” said Payton, who has complimented Sutton’s work ethic throughout the offseason. “He’s in good shape, but you don’t want to just throw him in there, so we’ll be smart about that.”
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Despite acknowledged frustration with aspects of the contract negotiations, Sutton was adamant he is excited about what the Broncos can do in 2024. They’ll have a new Week 1 starting quarterback — Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson — for the sixth time since Sutton was drafted in the second round in 2018, but he doesn’t accept the premise the Broncos are in a reset just because they are once again starting over at quarterback.
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“I’m staying in guys’ ears, (saying), ‘This isn’t going to be a three-year process,'” Sutton said. “We want to win right now. Whoever winds up coming out (at quarterback), they’re going to give us the best chance to win.”
Sutton noted he already sees qualities in Nix that will allow the rookie to “go out and have success early,” if the first-round pick is indeed named the starter. Sutton also knows he’ll play an important role in helping Nix through whatever rookie learning curve he faces.
“I want to be able to go out and produce and do more,” Sutton said. “It was nice to be able to have the 10 touchdowns, but I know there’s more in there. I missed some, left some out there this past year. … I’m looking forward to seeing where my talents can take me and what new heights I can get to with whoever winds up being the guy they pick to be the starter.”
Timeline for QB decision?
Payton has not provided a timeline for when he’ll decide on the Week 1 starter at quarterback, but Tuesday he shared the latest date that decision would come.
“I would say I have an end date. That would be a week before the first game,” Payton said. “But I don’t have a set date.”
The three quarterbacks have split reps evenly with the first-team offense during the offseason program, a rotation that is continuing through minicamp. Payton has conducted competition at other spots on the roster in a similar matter.
Payton has indicated the equal-share format won’t last throughout training camp. At some point, a leader will emerge. And it stands to reason that Payton would want the starter, particularly if it’s Nix due to his lack of NFL experience, to get as many reps as possible before the season opener Sept. 8 in Seattle.
“But I think most importantly,” Payton said, “it’s (making) the right decision. … When we get into training camp, when we get into preseason games, I think oftentimes, the decisions take care of themselves. But the object is to win. In our league, it’s year to year. We’re competing to win this year, and we’re going to make the right decision relative to who gives us that opportunity.”
(Top photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
