Courtland Sutton is screwing the Broncos out of a successful future

Courtland Sutton wants a new contract and is skipping voluntary workouts with the Broncos to try to pressure them into giving him a lucrative new deal. The reality is that the veteran wideout is exerting pressure on Denver's front office that extends far beyond his status with the team.

Sutton only has $2 million in guaranteed money left on his current deal. It's easy to understand why the productive wide receiver wants a new deal. At 28 years of age he's still in his prime but this could be his last opportunity to really cash in while he's at the top of his game. His age does not necessarily fit the Broncos' realistic timeline for contention even with Sean Payton in charge of the team.

That's why many NFL observers are wondering whether or not Sutton might be useful trade bait in a trade the Broncos could potentially swing to move up in the 2024 NFL Draft to land a quarterback. Jarrett Stidham would be the team's starter if the regular season started today but he's a placeholder at best.

Courtland Sutton has the Broncos in a no-win situation

The problem with that plan from Denver's perspective is that it could leave their rookie quarterback short on weapons to work with. Jerry Jeudy already left town via trade and moving Sutton would leave Josh Reynolds and Marvin Mims as the team's most reliable wide receivers. That would represent one of the weakest starting duos in the NFL.

Instead, look for the Broncos to work hard to avoid including Sutton in any kind of trade to move up in the draft. Denver can use future picks instead to try to find a trade partner in the top five. That represents a big risk for a team that has a lot of holes to fill but nothing's more important to the Broncos brass than finding the right quarterback.

A slightly unorthox solution would be to use future draft capital to swing the quarterback and then deal Sutton for a younger wide receiver on a rookie deal or a draft pick highi enough to secure a wideout to grow with the rookie quarterback in question. That might be a heavy lift for Denver's front office but it's the sort of move that can help accelerate their rebuild in a major way.