DENVER, Colo. — Court is in session… at least, it will be on Tuesday.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton announced Thursday on the DNVR Broncos Podcast that he plans to attend mandatory minicamp next week. Sutton missed the entire voluntary portion of the offseason, opting to train in Florida instead. He’s hoping for a new contract, but would have been fined more than $100,000 if he missed all three mandatory practices.
“I will be there,” Sutton said. “It’s been killing me not being able to be at OTAs. This has been a very different offseason than I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in this league. Anybody that knows me and anybody that’s played with me understands that I love this game. I love the game of ball. I give any and everything that I possibly can.”
While Sutton hasn’t been in the Broncos’ building, he’s been keeping an eye on their OTAs. He has access to all of the practice film.
“Seeing how guys have been working their butts off in OTAs, being able to see the connections guys are getting in live reps, it’s been really fun to see,” Sutton said. “I’ve been able to put together a picture of what the expectations are moving forward. They’re not going down any from last year.”
At OTAs, all eyes are on rookie first-round quarterback Bo Nix. Sutton is keeping an eye on him, too.
While Sutton has spent the offseason away from team facilities, he’s been in contact with Nix. The first conversation came after Nix was drafted. Others have followed. A theme has been the transition from college football to the NFL, and how to assimilate into an NFL locker room.
“Bo brings a lot of really good qualities to our team, in terms of the quarterback position,” Sutton said. “The guy has had a lot of success in the college level. I actually was able to watch him in a few games last year go out there and sling the ball around. I didn’t know if we were going to have a chance to be able to get him. Whenever the conversation started to come about, and we were made the pick, I was excited to see that we were going to be able to work with him.
“He has that leader mentality; that aura that he carries, that he walks with.”
Sutton believes he can help Nix grow.
“The things that Bo does very well, and the things that I do well can allow us to have success,” he said. “I think our offense is going to be a very exciting offense to watch.”
Nix’s arrival was made possible by Russell Wilson‘s departure.
Sutton and Wilson were close. When the Broncos asked Wilson to restructure parts of his contract last season, Sutton was the only teammate Wilson told.
“It was a tough pill to swallow,” Sutton said of Wilson’s departure. “You see the writing on the wall. You hear the murmurs that go on at the end of the season and into the beginning of the offseason that things are going to happen.”
Wilson and Sutton developed a strong partnership on the field, too. The quarterback was crucial to Sutton’s 10-touchdown season.
After the Broncos released Wilson, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sutton thinks the pairing makes sense.
“I’m excited to see what Russ does this upcoming season,” Sutton said. “I think he’s going to have a lot of success. I think that Russ is going to continue to build his hall-of-fame legacy, and I continue to say that boldly because he gets a bad rap from just a few different things that transpired and didn’t go the way that we wanted them to go.”
But business is business, and Sutton is ready to build in Denver.
“To have been here and to understand the legacy that the Broncos organization has built since his existence… knowing that this organization has always been an organization that teams feared and teams respected, I think that the past few years we haven’t been able to uphold to that standard of what Broncos football is supposed to be,” he said. “I know that we’re supposed to be a playoff-caliber team. I know that we’re supposed to be a team that in the offseason people are saying that this is a team that every team needs to watch out for, that this team is a Super Bowl contender.”
Sutton’s Broncos have struggled, but things change quickly in the NFL. The Detroit Lions turned their fortunes in about 18 months. The Houston Texans turned things around even quicker.
“We know that we have the talent,” Sutton said. “We know that we have the coaches. We know that we have any- and everything that we need to be able to get there. It’s just getting there.”
Sutton is one of 10 Broncos expected to participate in the UCHealth Healthy Swings Charity Home Run Derby at Coors Field on Wednesday, joining Garett Bolles, Jaleel McLaughlin, Jarrett Stidham, Wil Lutz, Matt Henningsen, Adam Trautman, Quinn Meinerz, Damarri Mathis and Jonathon Cooper. The event will raise money for Next Chapter, an organization that supports veterans and their families. The DNVR Broncos Podcast will be on-location for a live show on YouTube.
Tune in to the full show with Sutton below.
