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The Denver Broncos are facing a rebuilding year in 2024, with uncertainty at almost every position on the field.
In the few places where the Broncos have legitimate starters, uncertainty has reigned in the offseason — most notably at wide receiver with star Courtland Sutton pining for a raise on the 4-year, $60.8 million contract extension he signed in 2021.
Sutton, who has hinted he might miss training camp, might serve a better purpose for the Broncos as trade bait to build for the future. It’s something Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine thinks the franchise should pull the trigger on by trading Sutton to the Pittsburgh Steelers before the season starts.
“The offense is already undergoing an overhaul after trading away Jerry Jeudy for draft picks,” Ballentine wrote. “If the Broncos are unwilling to meet Sutton’s financial expectations, it might make sense for both sides to hit the reset button and work out a trade. If that’s the case, the Steelers should be the first ones on the phone as they see if they can put together a much better offense in 2024 with Russell Wilson at quarterback.”
Sutton and Wilson also already have a familiarity after spending the last two years together on the Broncos, albeit without much individual or team success.
Wilson-Sutton Part II: The Sequel No One Asked For
Hollywood history is littered with sequels no one asked for, no one wanted and we all ended up paying for as viewers in terms of bleeding eyeballs staring at a screen praying for the movie to be over.
Speed 2: Cruise Control (no Keanu, bad Bullock).
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (no Tommy Lee Jones, no thanks).
Major League II. Jaws 2. Teen Wolf Too. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Caddyshack II.
In this case, while Wilson-Sutton II could join the ranks of the worst re-pairings in NFL history — and torture football viewers for a few seasons — if the Steelers are willing to do it, the Broncos should probably let them.
Vegas Insider shows the Broncos across the board at 5.5 wins for their over/under total for 2024 from every major betting service and almost every mock draft available has Denver pegged with a top five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That’s just one year after taking Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12 overall in 2024 and Nix unable, so far, to create separation between himself, Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham to be the starting quarterback.
There’s really no way for the Broncos to be good in 2024 barring some sort of cinematic miracle. Better to stack draft picks for the future if possible and pray a better day awaits.
Sutton 5 Years Removed From 1,000-Yard Season
While Sutton remains the last Denver player to pass 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, it’s worth pointing out that single season was in 2019, when he earned his lone Pro Bowl selection.
Since then, Sutton has grossly underperformed. He only played one game in 2020 before tearing his ACL. In 2021, he had 58 receptions for 776 yards and 2 touchdowns followed by 64 receptions for 829 yards in 2022.
In 2023, Sutton had 59 receptions for 772 yards — his lowest total since 704 yards as a rookie in 2018 — but had a career-high 10 touchdown receptions.
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