Getty Denver Broncos GM George Paton addressing the media.
The Denver Broncos have ended their season with a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders and finished the season 8-9.
There was some uncertainty on whether general manager George Paton would keep his job after just one season with head coach Sean Payton.
According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Broncos are expected to keep Paton moving forward.
“Sources say there shouldn’t be a question about the status of general manager George Paton.”
“Paton is viewed as safe inside the organization, sources say. Based on his overall evaluation talents and a strong working relationship with Sean Payton since the head coach arrived last offseason, all indications are Paton should stay on,” per Rapoport and Pelissero.
On December 28, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was interviewed on 104.3 The Fan in Denver and explained that the decision is going to be made by Payton.
“That’s going to be a Sean decision, just like the Russell [Wilson] thing was ultimately his decision, and we saw how that went. We’ll see what he decides there. It’s going to be the next question. I don’t have an answer for you. Sean’s going to have to answer that,” Schefter said.
Paton’s Tenure Hasn’t Been Great in Denver
The Broncos hired Paton in January of 2021 after general manager John Elway decided to step away of being the lead man of the Denver franchise.
One of Paton’s first decisions after being hired was whether he was going to keep head coach Vic Fangio or go in a different direction.
Denver was 12-20 under Fangio and continued to look for their franchise quarterback with the hopes of it being Drew Lock.
Since Fangio was part of the hiring process of Paton, the newly hired general manager decided to keep the defensive minded head coach for another season.
In 2021, the Broncos entered the offseason looking for a quarterback to battle things out in training camp with Lock.
On the first day of the NFL Draft in 2021, Paton traded a sixth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for Teddy Bridgewater. Denver finished the season with both quarterbacks starting games and ended the season with a 7-10 record.
In Paton’s second season in Denver, he made a splash at the quarterback position by making one of the biggest trades in NFL history.
During the 2022 offseason, the Broncos traded away two first-round picks and two second-round picks along with Lock, Noah Fant, and Shelby Harris to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Wilson and a fourth-round pick.
Before the first game of the season of the 2022 season, Paton gave Wilson a five-year contract extension worth $245 million despite having two years left on his deal from Seattle.
Paton also fired Fangio and hired first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett to be an offensive mind for Wilson.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in 2022 and Paton was forced to fire Hackett 15 games into the season. Denver finished the season with a 5-12 record and Wilson had one of the worst years of his career.
In 2023, Paton was once again looking for another head coach and decided to trade for former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. The Broncos traded away a first-round and second-round pick to the Saints for Payton along with a third-round pick.
Once again things didn’t turn out the way the Broncos wanted it to. They finished the season with an 8-9 record for their seventh-straight losing season and eighth straight of missing the playoffs.
During the Broncos’ downfall in 2023, Wilson was benched by Payton with the hopes that backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham would give them a spark on offense for the final two games of the season.
Paton is known for being a great scout and having an eye for talent. In his three drafts, Paton has drafted just two Pro Bowlers and that’s cornerback Patrick Surtain ll and punt returner Marvin Mims Jr.
In three years, Paton’s Broncos have gone 20-31 and have yet to have a winning season or playoff berth.
Paton Must Have a Big Offseason
Not only is this the most important season in Broncos’ history, but also Paton’s career.
The Broncos became the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl and miss the playoffs for the next eight years.
Entering the 2024 offseason, Denver is currently about $24 million over the salary cap, per OvertheCap.com.
The Broncos are also likely to move on from Wilson after he was benched with just two games left in the season.
If Denver decides to designate Wilson as a post-June 1 cut and spread the cap hit out over two years, they would face hits of $35.4 million in 2024 and $ 49.6 million in 2025.
It will be difficult for the Broncos to be as active as they want to be in free agency because of their cap issues, but that only means they need to hit in the draft.
Currently, the Broncos only own six draft picks in the 2024 NFL Draft and are without picks in the second and seventh-rounds.
Paton will have to get with Payton to figure out what their plan is to do at the quarterback position. Denver can look at a bridge gunslinger in free agency and add a veteran or they can target a big-name free agent quarterback like Kirk Cousins.
Adding a player like Cousins will need some creative contract work to fit him under the salary cap.
The Broncos can also select a quarterback in the first-round if there is someone, they’re in love with. Denver will pick 12th in the 2024 NFL Draft.
If things don’t turn around quickly for Paton, he’ll be looking for another front office job elsewhere in the NFL.