ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Courtland Sutton held true to his word.
Last week, the Denver Broncos No. 1 receiver told the DNVR Broncos Podcast he would attend the Broncos’ mandatory minicamp after missing OTAs and the rest of the team’s offseason workout program.
On Tuesday, No. 14 was out on the practice field for the team’s first day of mandatory minicamp.
“I love ball. I love the guys,” Sutton said after practice on Tuesday. “Being able to come out here and watch practice and be around the guys, even just the stretch and move around with them was so much fun and I enjoyed it to the fullest.”
But just because Sutton attended mandatory minicamp does not mean he is putting his contract requests in the past. In fact, Sutton made it very clear he is looking for a new contract from the team.
“It’s obviously something that is, has been conversed about and my team and I have been in contact with the guys upstairs that handle all of that stuff,” the 28-year old stated, giving insight on his contract requests. “We were kind of going back and forth trying to figure out the best way to kind of find a middle ground for the situation and we are at a stalemate in a sense, but I have confidence and faith that the right thing will be done.”
The Pro Bowl receiver is entering the third year of a four-year, $60.8 million extension he signed with the team during the 2021 season. Sutton has a $13 million salary in 2024 with only $2 million guaranteed, which has already kicked in.
After hauling in 10 touchdown passes in 2023 with Russell Wilson, Sutton is looking for a bigger contract.
“I hope that I am a part of the bigger picture. I’ve been told that is what the gameplan is. I’ve also been told some other things. We will see what happens. I hope I am able to be a part of the gameplan,” Sutton said, talking about his future with the team. “If it becomes a three or four-year dynasty, then I hope I will be able to be a part of it.”
Along with hoping a new deal happens so he can remain a Bronco for life, Sutton sent a direct message to the team’s decision makers, most notably Sean Payton, George Paton and Rich Hurtado.
“You know we’ll see, we’ll see what happens,” Sutton said when asked if he’ll show up for training camp if his contract negotiations remain at a stalemate. “Got a month to be able to get things situated, hopefully things get situated because, you know, as you all have heard and I will continue to say this, this is where I want to be. This is home.”
“This is where I want to go hoist the Lombardi Trophy,” Sutton continued. “This is the place where I want to retire. This is the place where I, hopefully, want to be able to put enough out, once my career is done, that I can hopefully be able to have a bid at the Broncos’ Ring of Fame. Those are all things that have to be earned. Hopefully, I’ll be able to have the time to continue to showcase that I’m capable of being in that caliber of people.”
Sutton made it clear that just because No. 14 was on the field at mandatory minicamp doesn’t mean he’ll automatically show up for training camp. His message to the team was clear: This isn’t over.
In fact, Sutton and his camp had conversations about the team’s No. 1 receiver not showing up to mandatory minicamp.
“It was something that was conversed about. My team and I had conversations about it,” he said, when asked if he considered missing mandatory minicamp, which would have come with a fine over $101,000.
“It was definitely something that was considered,” Sutton continued. “I’m not going to say I wasn’t a fan, but, obviously I’m here. That’s the biggest thing. I wanted to make sure that it was known that, ‘Yeah I was upset about how the contract went about, how the conversation went about, how the stalemate has persisted’… It was something that was considered, but I don’t think it was a high consideration just because I think that the point has been made already. I think everyone that needs to know, knows what the situation is. Like I said earlier, I hope that we’re able to find a solution and get to the bottom of this because this is where I want to be. Just hoping it’s mutual.”
Over the past two months, Courtland Sutton let his absence from OTAs and the team’s voluntary offseason program do the talking.
On Tuesday, at his first day back in the building, Sutton put his actions aside and let his words do the talking.
“The thing that I have come to understand with this business that we’re in is they’re always going to say that it’s just business, never personal. We got to move accordingly,” Sutton stated.
