Although Marvin Mims showed considerable growth as a playmaker down the stretch, the Broncos only trotted out one reliable pass catcher this season. After bouncing back in 2023, Courtland Sutton resumed that role to help Bo Nix‘s development.
Sutton’s 1,081 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches were far and away the top Broncos marks in both categories this season, and with Nix managing to cram his 29 touchdown passes from Weeks 4-18 — to produce the second-most TD tosses by a rookie in NFL history — his top receiver can claim plenty of credit. Such claims will now be relevant, as Sutton has reached the final year of his contract.
After scoring 10 touchdowns to help Russell Wilson rebound in his second and final Broncos slate, Sutton pushed the Broncos for a raise. The 6-foot-4 receiver stayed away from OTAs and continued to angle for better terms after showing up for Denver’s minicamp. Like Darius Slayton, however, Sutton’s quest only resulted in minor incentives being added to his 2024 equation. (Sutton cashed in on $1MM of his incentives this season.) The Broncos look to have set up 2025 as the time for true negotiations, telling Sutton last year he was pushing for a new deal too early, according to 9News’ Mike Klis.
Sutton remains tied to a four-year, $60MM extension agreed to during the 2021 season. Months prior to acquiring Wilson, GM George Paton agreed to what became a team-friendly deal with Sutton and, thanks to two season-ending injuries, a player-friendly pact (3/30) with Tim Patrick. The latter followed Jerry Jeudy out the door in 2024, and Sutton is the last man standing from the pre-Sean Payton era in Denver. That makes his 2025 status something to monitor, as does the former John Elway draftee’s perennial involvement in trade rumors.
Teams asked about Sutton in 2022, 2023 and 2024; countless rumors swirled. The two most notable instances came when the Ravens ventured deep into trade talks in March 2023, before signing Odell Beckham Jr., and the 49ers then offering a third-rounder for Sutton during their Brandon Aiyuk standoff last August. The Broncos balking at the 49ers’ proposal showed how much they counted on Sutton to help Nix, and he finished 578 yards ahead of the next-closest Broncos pass catcher this season.
This offseason looms as pivotal for Sutton, who is now 29. He signed what became a below-market pact, thanks to the receiver booms in 2022 and 2024, and is running out of time to cash in. The Broncos…