Broncos WR Courtland Sutton's Trade Value Declining Amid 0-3 Slump
The Denver Broncos were outcoached, outclassed, and embarrassed in Sunday’s 70-20 blowout defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins. The Broncos made history — and not in a positive way — allowing the Dolphins to almost break the single-game scoring record that has stood since 1966.
It was an abject failure in multiple ways. The Broncos' defense was atrocious, and the offense simply did not have enough possessions to keep up with Miami's scoring pace.
Although there is plenty of blame to go around, one of the most uncharacteristic elements of Week 3 was the play of Courtland Sutton. Against the Dolphins, Sutton fumbled the football twice while trying to make a play after the catch.
Sutton held himself accountable after the game:
“Disappointed, frustrated, mostly with myself, trying to do too much,” Sutton said post-game. “Can’t put the ball on the ground; it’s unacceptable. We always say that when we are carrying the ball, we’ve got everybody’s dreams, goals, and aspirations. I put the ball on the ground twice today, which is very frustrating... It’s frustrating, especially sitting at 0-3 right now.”
Sutton ended the day with eight catches on 11 targets for 91 yards and a touchdown. He was on pace to have a three-touchdown game. However, two of those touchdowns were called back because of penalties.
However, everyone knows that the NFL is a production-based business. And since the Broncos got out to an 0-3 start, the perspective has shifted to the expectation of this team being a big seller at the NFL trade deadline on October 31.
Given that Sutton was a part of the league’s worst offense in 2022, the Broncos' current slump, and the fumbles on Sunday, it appears his trade stock is slowly declining.
For his career as a Bronco, Sutton has 256 receptions on 444 targets, 3,676 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns. Some could imagine that receiver-needy NFL teams would be lining up to have a player with this type of career production.
Not only does Sutton fit the bill as a prototypical NFL receiver, but he also is great at catching the ball at its highest point. Outside of the 2020 season, where he tore his ACL in Week 2, he's also been available to play.
Keeping Sutton could give the Broncos and head coach Sean Payton the opportunity to further evaluate his role in the offense. After all, Sutton could help the offense be the catalyst for a turnaround in the coming weeks and prevent a trade altogether.
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