Sanders & Sutton break silence: Fight brought 'out the dog in us'

Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton are attempting to play nice — at least in the eye of public scrutiny.

On Tuesday — the day after the two wide receivers got into a protracted fistfight during practice — the Denver Broncos made them available to the media.

It was a bold move, but with everyone in the Mile High City seemingly walking on eggshells, Sanders broke the ice with a little levity.

"First of all, I just want all the media and the fans to know that me and Courtland are selling Pay-Per-View tickets for our next bout starting at $69.99," Sanders said on Tuesday (laughing). "Tickets will go on sale tomorrow.”

While we're not certain exactly what triggered the fisticuffs, we can safely assume that Sanders and Sutton are vying for the Broncos' No. 1 wideout role. By all rights, that title should belong to Sanders, a 10th-year vet with multiple 1,000-yard seasons, a couple of Pro Bowl nods and a World Championship in his trophy case.

Meanwhile, Sutton is in his second year, coming off a solid rookie campaign wherein he hauled in 42 receptions for 704 yards and four touchdowns. Despite the unspectacular production, Sutton anointed himself the team's WR1 on April 2 when the Broncos convened for OTAs. It's probably a safe bet to wager that Sutton's declaration rubbed Sanders wrong.

There's a good chance it's been stuck in Sanders' craw for the last few months, and in the August heat and amid the intensity of practicing football, the emotions boiled over. But for now, the Broncos' starting receiver duo are attempting to put the drama behind them.

“It stands good," Sanders said in reply to the state of his relationship with Sutton post-fight. "Obviously, we’re family. We went to the same school and grew up in the same area. It was a miscommunication and that’s just what it is, but at the end of the day, we’re back on the same page trying to be the best receivers in the world. Sometimes through failure is growth and I feel like me and him have grown through this, in terms of bringing that dog out of us even more and just ready to win and ready to tear it up.”

For his part, Sutton echoed his veteran teammate.

“One-hundred percent," Sutton said. "I think what Emmanuel said is right on point. We’re brothers at the end of the day. That’s all that matters. Like he said, we went to the same school. This is a dude I look up to, a dude I’ve been watching for a long time, chasing his records and getting here and following in his footsteps. All of that stuff is swept under the rug. We’re moving on to bigger and better things. We’re ready to win and take what we have here and keep growing.”

The good news is, with Sanders officially being worked into full participation during 11-on-11 team drills, that Broncos offense that appeared to be missing something since training camp opened looks completely differently. Despite whatever shortcomings Sanders might have, it cannot be denied how invaluable he is to this offense.

If the final quarter of last season didn't prove that, when Sanders was sidelined with an Achilles injury and Sutton failed to make hay as the defacto WR1, this summer has. Don't get me wrong, Sutton is a very good player with a ceiling as far as the eye can see.

But he's not there yet. It's going to take time for Courtland Sutton to fully flesh out the talent the Football Gods blessed him with.

In the meantime, Emmanuel Sanders is there to keep the Broncos' offense moving the chains and threatening the opposing defense consistently. As good as Phillip Lindsay is, again I say, without Sanders in the offense down the stretch, the Broncos couldn't get out of neutral.

Opposing teams simply stacked the box and took away the ground game, nullifying Lindsay, while playing press-man coverage at the line of scrimmage and confounding Sutton. Sanders' experience, quickness and route-running ability force the defense to play Denver more honestly.

That opens up the entire enchilada for QB Joe Flacco and OC Rich Scangarello. For what it's worth, I like what Sanders said about this conflict bringing out the "dog" in he and Sutton.

Hopefully, it can be a galvanizing moment, and even if it doesn't bring Sanders and Sutton closer together, it can allow each player to elevate to that next level of intensity and performance. Plus, a little healthy competition is a good thing.

“And that’s what it is," Sanders joked. "Again, we’re selling tickets for Pay-Per-View for the next round, $69.99, alright? (laughing). But for you, I’ll give you a package deal, you’re family (laughing).”

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen.

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