Sean Payton Breaks Silence on Broncos' Viral WR Trade Rumors

Sean Payton made his team's intentions with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton quite clear.

Despite the rampant rumors, the Denver Broncos are not trading either of their top two wide receivers. According to head coach Sean Payton, Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton aren't going anywhere. 

Denver's new head coach used a mixed-sports metaphor to settle the issue publicly. 

"I see and read just like everyone else does," Payton said on Sunday via NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "Then occasionally, when someone really crowds the plate, I throw a fastball right at their chin, and they back up, and they're like, 'Alright.' And so I haven't thrown any fastballs lately, but we're not trading those two players."

In attendance at the Annual League Meeting this weekend, Payton and his new GM counterpart in Denver, George Paton, are rubbing shoulders with their NFL peers. Since Payton arrived as Denver's new head coach, he acknowledges that the phones have been ringing with inquiries on Jeudy and Sutton.

The Broncos have listened to those offers, but in Payton's opinion, considering the team's relative lack of draft capital, it's Paton's job to hear out the trade inquiries. 

"When people call and the phone rings like it does this time of year, (general manager) George Paton's job is to pick it up and say, 'Hey. Tell you what, we're not.' And so, we've received calls, you bet," Payton said. "Those are two good football players. But we're in the business of gathering talent right now. Why do people call? Because they know we're void of draft picks and that we might, because there was some discussions a year ago, I think, regarding Courtland. But we like the current group that we're working with."

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Jeudy is coming off his best year as a pro, coming up just short of a 1,000-yard season with 972 yards on 67 receptions with six touchdowns. Jeudy led the team in most receiving categories.

For Sutton's part, he didn't fare quite as well, finishing the 2022 season with 64 receptions for 829 yards and two touchdowns. With Payton landing in the Mile High City, though, the stock of both players is on the rise. 

Much will depend on how quickly (and how well) Payton is able to turn Russell Wilson around, but if the veteran quarterback can even approach his nine-time Pro-Bowler form of yesteryear, there's no telling what the Broncos' offensive limits might be. 

Never say never (it is the NFL), but it sounds like Payton and Paton find Jeudy and Sutton to be more valuable to the Broncos' offensive ambitions than whatever compensation has been offered via trade. Broncos Country won't be able to fully rest easy until the NFL draft has come and gone, but Payton went to great length to quell the trade speculation. 

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