It could go either way for the Green Bay Packers this season, honestly. I might be quite bullish on them, as I said they would go something like 12-5 once I unpacked their 17-game regular-season schedule. Of course, this is all contingent on them being able to get the most out of Jordan Love in his second full season as the starting quarterback. He is promising, but he is about to go get the bag.
Love is on the precipice of cashing in on some big-time money. He may not completely reset the quarterbacking market, but he will be making closer to $40 million annually in about a year's time. Of course, he needs to continue to play well to guarantee that massive bump in salary. Therefore, it serves the Broncos to just go for it by surrounding Love with the best talent possible on offense.
One player who could help them out is Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton. Here is what a blockbuster trade could look like to get this Pro Bowler out of SMU to a better overall situation soon.
Since Sutton is making $15 million annually from the Broncos, we will need a slight premium of assets going Denver's way to make this trade work with the Packers. The combination of a second and a fifth-round pick in 2025, plus a third and a seventh-round pick in 2026 gets us to within $70,000 of being relatively equal in terms of APY. Green Bay can land Sutton without giving up a first-round pick.
Let's discuss if this is the type of trade the Broncos would be interested in moving on from Sutton.
How Green Bay Packers trade for Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton
There are two huge advantages to be had in this potential trade partnership. The first is Denver and Green Bay are at vastly different points in their respective competitive life cycles. Green Bay has just now gotten to win-now mode. Denver is about to rip the band-aid off once again when it comes to undergoing yet another rebuild. The other is they are in opposite conferences, which is a huge help.
From what Denver will be getting back from Green Bay, I think the Broncos would seriously consider making the trade. The Broncos would essentially have four bites at the apple to effectively replace Sutton in the next two drafts. They may not hit on a pick quite as prolifically as they did with Sutton coming out of SMU a few years back. To me, this all comes down to them getting a better front office.
As for the Packers, the compensation they would be giving up in a deal like this is not as punitive as one would think. They still retain both first-round picks, ones where they could take somebody in the mid-to-late-20s, or potentially use as collateral to trade back to pick up second and third-round picks that will not cost as much as what the Packers are probably going to have to pay Love on a new deal.
There could be variations to this deal, but I think the bones are there to make a deal work, if possible.