The Denver Broncos had to figure out a way to make star wide receiver Courtland Sutton happy in the offseason after the former Pro Bowler threatened to not report to training camp without a raise.
While the Broncos bent over backwards to meet Sutton’s demands and ultimately gave him a raise that amounted to $1.5 million in incentives in 2024 — on top of the $13.4 million salary he was set to receive — Sutton has done little to return the favor.
The latest example of this was Sutton going without a catch in a 33-10 road win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7 in a game where Sutton didn’t even have a single target.
From Bleacher Report: “Wide receiver Courtland Sutton spent this game on a milk carton (which was odd), and Denver still had arguably its best all-around performance of the season. The Broncos are going to need their No. 1 receiver.”
For someone getting paid $61 million to catch a football, Sutton has done little of that at an elite level. Through 6 games in 2024, Sutton leads the Broncos with 21 receptions for 277 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns but hasn’t had a game over 70 receiving yards.
While some of that can be blamed on playing with a rookie quarterback in No. 12 overall pick Bo Nix, it’s hard to look past how average Sutton has been, despite playing on a 4-year, $60.8 million contract extension he signed in November 2021.
Sutton No Stranger to No-Catch Games
While Sutton is still the last Denver player to have a 1,000-yard receiving season, that was in 2019, when he made his only Pro Bowl.
Since then, he’s been decidedly average and his latest no-catch game is something he’s done repeatedly throughout his career. In fact, it’s the third season in a row where Sutton has had a “milk carton” game where he went without a catch.
While you can point to Sutton’s 10 touchdown receptions in 2023 as an example of his productivity, it’s been a long time since he had what could be considered a truly standout game.
Sutton hasn’t had over 100 receiving yards in a single game since Week 2 of the 2022 regular season, when he had 11 receptions for 122 receiving yards in a 16-9 win over the Houston Texans.
Digging even deeper, Sutton hasn’t had over 90 receiving yards in a single game since Week 3 of the 2023 season in a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Broncos Have Limited Options at Wide Receiver
The Broncos were in desperate need of a franchise quarterback in 2024, which led them to Nix. That also means they probably won’t have a chance to draft an elite wide receiver until 2025.
Until then, they’re stuck with Sutton, who Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler put on his NFL All-Overpaid Team headed into the 2024 season.
“Denver’s de-facto No. 1 wideout over the last handful of seasons, Courtland Sutton has failed to amass over 830 yards receiving in each of the last four campaigns,” Fowler wrote on August 29. “While 2023 saw him reach a new career high in touchdowns (10), the 28-year-old hasn’t evolved into the matchup nightmare the Broncos thought he’d become after his electric 2019 campaign (1,112 yards).”
