The Denver Broncos have multiple players waiting for extensions, with one of them being wide receiver Courtland Sutton. After dealing with a contract issue before last season, the Broncos and Sutton agreed to a slight re-work of his deal, but it wasn’t an extension.
Now, Sutton is entering the final year of his deal, as his contract will automatically void on March 7, 2026. If nothing is done before that, Sutton becomes a free agent, and the Broncos will incur $7,125,000 in dead money.
There hasn’t been much word about the Sutton extension, or any extension for that matter, when it comes to the Broncos. However, there are other players in the NFL that the Broncos and their players are keeping an eye on: in the case of Sutton, eyes are on Terry McLaurin, and his public contract issues with the Washington Commanders, and Jakobi Meyers with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Why those two players? They are all around the same age, at 30 or 31, coming off similar seasons, and have about the same amount of time in the NFL, with six or seven years of experience. If one of those deals gets done, then the other two receivers will likely happen quickly, as that is the way of life in the NFL.
When examining those three receivers, a clear order emerges, with McLaurin likely receiving the most, followed by Sutton and Meyers, at least on paper. Ideally, for Sutton, both McLaurin and Meyers get their deals done before the Broncos get to it with Sutton.
Those two players can provide a higher cap and higher floor than expected, which can lead to more money for Sutton. Even if the Broncos don’t get an extension done with Sutton, and they decide that it is too much for them, it will help him get more from another team.
McLaurin has had five of his six seasons go over 1,000 yards, with his rookie season missing out by 81 yards. Meyers had a slower start to his season, but has steadily improved over his career. What creates an issue for Sutton is the time he missed due to injury in 2020 and how long it took him to return to being a 1,000-yard receiver.
As the Broncos look forward, they have a number of younger, cost-controlled receivers on their roster. If they step up, that could make it difficult for them to extend Sutton, especially before the season starts. They seem to be willing to take a risk with him and allow his cost to increase, which makes sense.
If the Broncos' younger receivers step up, they may see that they don’t need Sutton and can move him before the trade deadline. If they do step up, then they were always going to need to pay him and will have a better idea about how they will want to structure the deal, as well as the length, even if it comes at a higher cost.
Whatever ends up happening, Sutton and his agents are keeping an eye on the other receiver negotiations around the NFL, but so are George Paton and the Broncos. Someone has to be the first domino to fall.
