NFL rumors: Perfect trade scenarios for Broncos wide receivers on the block
By Kinnu Singh
The Denver Broncos wide receiver room could offer a solution for several wide receiver-depleted teams throughout the NFL.
In 2023, the Denver Broncos are still building out a roster that can weather the AFC West’s tough competition.
Although the Russell Wilson trade has yet to pan out, the Broncos followed it up with another big-name acquisition: Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints.
The Super Bowl-winning veteran coach is one of the NFL‘s greatest offensive minds, which is exactly what Wilson and the Broncos need to become a playoff-contending force.
Payton has already made significant moves in free agency to overhaul the Broncos roster, and the latest reports out of Denver indicate their entire wide receiver room is available for trades.
Sources with multiple teams believe the Broncos could trade a WR. Denver has had talks with teams about Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. Teams say the Broncos are asking high prices, not just dumping, but it's not out of the question one gets moved.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) March 13, 2023
If Payton does make another offseason splash by trading a Broncos wide receiver, it could significantly benefit an NFL team in dire need of a wideout this spring.
Here are a few teams who could be likely candidates for a trade with Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos.
3. Broncos trade partner for Courtland Sutton: New England Patriots
They’re no longer in opposing conferences, but it’s still entirely possible that Payton could work out a mutually beneficial trade with his longtime friend, Bill Belichick.
Both were under the tutelage of Bill Parcells, which fostered like-minded coaching philosophies over the years. Sean Payton expressed his desire to model the New Orleans Saints after Belichick’s Patriots, and the two have shared joint practices in the past. It’s no coincidence that Belichick and Payton headed two of the NFL’s most consistently talented teams over the 2010s.
Payton and Belichick have also traded with one another on several occasions, and in two of those exchanges, Payton sent over a wide receiver: Jalen Saunders and Brandin Cooks. Now that the Patriots have lost Jakobi Meyers to the Las Vegas Raiders, they could trade with the Broncos for Courtland Sutton, as Payton will likely hold onto Jerry Jeudy.
Sutton’s base salary is a costly $14 million, and if the Broncos wait to trade until after June 1, they would only take a $3.8 million cap hit with $14.4 million in cap savings. It’s more than the Patriots offered Meyers, but Sutton would be an upgrade at receiver and New England has the cap space to handle Sutton’s salary.