Getty Jerry Jeudy #10 of the Denver Broncos looks onward during pregame at Empower Field At Mile High on October 23, 2022.
The Buffalo Bills are firmly in the market to find a solid wide receiver to backup Stefon Diggs and several NFL analysts linked the franchise to possibly landing Broncos star Jerry Jeudy after ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported earlier this month that Denver would make him available on the trade market.
Former Bills receiver Stevie Johnson also encouraged the move. Johnson tweeted on March 17, “Send Denver draft picks and bring Juedy + to Buffalo.” However, while Sean Payton was speaking to NFL Insider Tom Pelissero at the Annual League Meeting on Sunday, March 26, he shut down the rumors that Jeudy, the team’s former first-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft, would be going anywhere. Courtland Sutton is also staying put, according to the newly hired Broncos head coach.
“I see and read just like everyone else does,” Payton said. “Then occasionally, when someone really crowds the plate, I throw a fastball right at their chin, and they back up, and they’re like, ‘Alright.’ And so I haven’t thrown any fastballs lately, but we’re not trading those two players.
“When people call and the phone rings like it does this time of year, (general manager) George Paton’s job is to pick it up and say, ‘Hey. Tell you what, we’re not.’ And so, we’ve received calls, you bet. Those are two good football players. But we’re in the business of gathering talent right now. Why do people call? Because they know we’re void of draft picks and that we might, because there was some discussions a year ago, I think, regarding Courtland. But we like the current group that we’re working with.”
Not Everyone Is Buying Payton’s Word
GettyHead coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos speaks to the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on February 28, 2023.
Just four days ago, Cleveland.com’s Mary Cabot Kay reported that the Bronco’s asking price for Jeudy was insanely high. “The Browns haven’t slammed the door shut on trying to trade for Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy despite the lack of a first-round pick this season or next, Cabot wrote. “The Broncos don’t plan to trade Jeudy, their 2020 No. 15 overall pick out of Alabama, unless someone makes them an offer they can’t refuse, another source said. That offer would ideally include a first-round pick.”
Therefore, not everyone was Payton’s statement. For many people on Twitter, it sounded like Peyton was trying to shut down trade rumors because they didn’t get any offers that included a first-round pick, and they believe the door isn’t actually closed on acquiring the 23-year-old receiver who led the Broncos with 67 receptions and six touchdowns last season.
SB Nation’s Bruce Nolan tweeted, “Sus,” while a Bills fan responded, “This says to me that they didn’t like the offers and are now backtracking to not hurt the players feelings going forward.” A Jets fan wrote, “I’ll give everyone who likes this tweet $1 if one of these dudes aren’t traded by opening kickoff.”
However, Pro Football Talk‘s Michael David Smith believes Payton. Smith wrote, “If the Broncos end up trading either Jeudy or Sutton, it would hardly be the first time that a team traded a player after the coach said they wouldn’t. But Payton sounds pretty definitive about not moving either Jeudy or Sutton.”
NFL Analysts Pushed the Bills to Sign Jeudy Over DeAndre Hopkins
GettyCardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins #10 scores a touchdown against the Chargers at State Farm Stadium on November 27, 2022.
While the Bills have been heavily linked to landing Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, 31, several analysts believe Buffalo would be better off with Jeudy. Even after signing Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield, adding an explosive receiver like Jeudy could be what finally puts the Bills “over the championship hump,” per USA Today‘s Robert Zeglinski.
“Regardless of whether the aging Hopkins heads to Buffalo or not, he doesn’t seem long for Jonathan Gannon’s rebuilding crew. Meanwhile, Jeudy is undoubtedly a talented playmaker and is still only 23. But he would probably be best served by a fresh start as the focal point of an offense,” Zeglinski wrote. Either Hopkins or the Broncos receiver “almost make too much sense for the Bills, but “if anyone needed a new lease in the NFL, it’d be someone with the natural gifts of Jeudy — who has the potential to thrive with proper volume, a true offensive scheme focus and quality from a real star QB. Like, say, Allen in Buffalo. What a coincidence.”
The Athletic‘s Joe Buscaglia hoped the Bills would make landing Jeudy a priority this offseason. He wrote, “As much as I think the Harty signing went a little undervalued in general, I would have focused on a trade for Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy this offseason. It all depends on the cost, of course, but if the price was a second-round pick plus, the Bills should have considered it.
“Jeudy fits their cap profile for 2023 with only a $2.7 million cap hit, they’d have roster control with a fifth-year option on him for 2024, and he is a superior talent to anything they could find at receiver in the second round. They have a long-term need at receiver, and the 23-year-old Jeudy would fit into that picture well. Jeudy is also a strong fit on the field, having the separation skills, the run-after-catch ability they covet and the flexibility to play at slot receiver and on the boundary.”