Sean Payton Sends Message to Jerry Jeudy Amid His Bizarre Behavior

When Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy directed some smack talk toward Steve Smith last week, it spoke volumes of his growing frustrations. Furthermore, it may have provided insight into what makes Jeudy tick as a person and as a professional athlete.

It would seem Jeudy needs to be agitated in order to light a fire underneath him, but so far in 2023, the production has yet to materialize. Of course, persistent trade rumors have spilled from the offseason into the regular season, and it's bound to have gotten to the young wideout.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton is the man with access to the button that would activate a rumored trade of Jeudy. For now, though, Payton is hedging his bet as he acknowledged Jeudy's ongoing frustrations and his desire to get the former first-rounder more involved in the Broncos offense.

Make no mistake, though; Payton is well aware of the trade buzz, aka "that other stuff."

“He’s frustrated, I’m sure. He’s a talented player," Payton said on Monday. "We need to continue to look for ways to get him throws—not only in the slot, but outside. The other stuff, I don’t try to keep track of as long as it’s not a distraction to what we’re doing as a team. That being said, he’s very competitive, he’s smart and he’s a playmaker for us. We have to continue to look for ways to put him in positions to make plays.”

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In the last two games, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has taken a step back after he showed some positive signs to start the season. Given how every receiver is quarterback-dependent, Jeudy's struggles aren't all of his own making.

Looking at the bigger picture, Payton and the Broncos are marooned right now. Confidence in the defense as the unit gets healthier is growing, perhaps granting embattled coordinator Vance Joseph a temporary dispensation from the critical onslaught.

Just as Payton plugs one leak on the Broncos ship, another springs open. Amid Denver's single-game defensive improvement, the head coach's confidence in the Broncos' passing game is low, which points toward deepening issues under center.

“It’s been a handful [of things]," Payton said of the offense. "It’s hard to point to one specifically. You want to have confidence in the pocket, and we need to find ways to get guys open. Typically speaking, that has to happen efficiently on early downs. It can’t be just on third down.”

Despite Payton detailing what he believes are the immediate issues at hand, coming to grips with the organization's wider ills could result in a substantial tear-down of the roster.

Payton coming together with Broncos GM George Paton will ultimately decide the fate of Jeudy and others in short order, but for now, the game of cat and mouse continues with coach-speak.

“The focus is on the schedule and winning the next week. Certainly, every year when this time comes, there’s speculation,” Payton said. “People call, and people call teams that aren’t playing well or are struggling to see if they’re interested in moving players. That would be the only thing. It doesn’t require a four-day summit relative to what the plan is. George [Paton] would bring any information to [Owner/CEO] Greg [Penner] and myself, but right now, our focus is on playing Green Bay.”

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