Sean Payton gives insight into the trade rumors surrounding Courtland Sutton and the Denver Broncos

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos turned down a third-round pick from the San Francisco 49ers for Courtland Sutton, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

Or did they?

On Monday morning, as the team kicked off their game prep for their season opener on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, Sean Payton directly refuted the details in the report that surfaced days before.

“I read the same thing you read, and I would say we didn’t get nearly as far down the road as what may have been reported,” the Broncos’ head coach said. “It’s a little bit of a stretch relative to the specifics.”

Shortly after the 49ers agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension with Brandon Aiyuk, Russini reported: “The 49ers only were willing to trade Brandon Aiyuk if they could get a top-flight WR to replace him. They offered a third-round pick to Denver for Courtland Sutton, and then would’ve dealt Aiyuk to the Steelers, but the Broncos declined the offer.”

According to Payton, talks never progressed to the extent of a third-round pick being offered for Sutton. Denver’s coach added the details of what did or didn’t happen are “insignificant” now that Sutton remains a Bronco.

However, Payton added additional insight regarding Sutton, saying this isn’t the first time the Broncos have received interest from other teams about their No. 1 receiver.

“I’m going to say in the last three months, there have been multiple teams call about Courtland,” Payton added. “He’s a good football player.”

Don’t however, expect this type of insight on trade rumors from Payton or the Broncos moving forward, the head coach made clear.

“For me to comment on every call that comes in to George [Paton] or myself would be ludicrous,” Payton stated.

This is far from the first time Sutton’s name has been involved in trade talks. For nearly 18 months, there have been rumors and reports floating around connecting Denver’s top receiver to other teams.

It was believed in 2023 that the Broncos were shopping Sutton for a second-round pick and Jerry Jeudy for a first-round pick. Earlier this offseason, Sutton and Jeudy were once again in trade rumors up until Jeudy was traded to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick.

After that, Sutton decided to not attend the Broncos’ offseason workout program, including OTAs, up until mandatory minicamp, which he did attend, as he was seeking a new contract.

As training camp began, the Broncos added an additional $1.5 million in incentives to Sutton’s contract, indicating he was part of the team’s plans for the 2024 season.

With Denver’s season opener six days away, Sutton not only remains part of the Broncos, he remains their No. 1 receiving option for rookie quarterback Bo Nix.