Broncos Pro Bowler Has ‘Tone Shift’ Ahead of Offseason Program

The Denver Broncos will address their veteran players seeking new contracts following the 2025 draft, meaning players like Courtland Sutton must wait longer before they gain clarity about their respective situations.

Sutton’s situation, in particular, is of note. He sat out the start of the Broncos’ voluntary offseason program in 2024 while seeking a new deal. Instead, his contract was restructured.

This offseason, the 2019 Pro Bowler is expected to attend the program, and with good reason.

“My team has had a really good conversation with the guys up there in the front office, and I think it’s working in the right direction,” Sutton told the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel in comments published on April 12. “I’m open and optimistic about the fact that I’ll be able to be here for the rest of my career.”

Sutton, who turns 30 in October, caught 81 passes for 1,038 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2024, one season after posting a career-high 10 TDs with former starting QB Russell Wilson.

The Broncos replaced Wilson with Bo Nix, who went on to have a historic rookie campaign.

“Man, going into the offseason knowing, ‘this is going to be our quarterback of the future — being able to build on that and having that consistency and that foundation already set going into the offseason is amazing,” Sutton told Gabriel.

Courtland Sutton Changes Tone, Avoids 2024 Repeat

Gabriel pointed to the 2024 offseason, when Sutton last attempted to renegotiate his four-year, $60 million contract.

“That’s a substantial tone shift and change in approach from a year ago, when Sutton skipped all of the Broncos’ voluntary offseason work,” Gabriel wrote. “When he reported to a mandatory minicamp in June — the only portion of the offseason he could have been fined for missing — he called contract talks between himself and the only organization he’s ever played for a ‘stalemate.’

Then, Sutton telegraphed his plans to skip some of the offseason program.

“Obviously, it’s something that has been … conversed about,” Sutton told reporters in June 2024. “My team and I have been in contact with the guys upstairs to handle all of that stuff. And we kind of going back and forth trying to figure out the best way to kind of find a middle ground for the situation.

“We are at a stalemate in a sense. But I have confidence and faith that the right thing will be done.”

The Broncos reworked Sutton’s deal, giving him an additional $1.5 million in guaranteed money, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero in July 2024. There was also an understanding between the two sides that they would come back to the table this offseason.

That was likely the first good-faith step.

“Ultimately, you just want to know you’re working in the right direction,” Sutton told Gabriel. “I think they see and have seen what I’ve brought to the team.”

Broncos Brass Sold on Courtland Sutton

Broncos head coach Sean Payton brushed aside any sense of urgency around Sutton’s contract situation, noting that general manager George Paton would handle it accordingly. The head coach did acknowledge Sutton’s 2024 campaign and the Broncos’ desire to retain him.

“We felt like he had a real good season,” Payton told reporters in February. “He’s important to what we’re doing.”

Paton expressed similar thoughts on Sutton.

“Courtland’s one of our guys. Team captain,” Paton told reporters in February. “I’ve said this for a couple years in a row: We want him here. We’ll have those discussions at the right time. We’ll meet with his agent here like we always do with all the agents.”

Sutton is hardly alone. 2024 Pro Bowler Nik Bonitto and second-team All-Pro Zach Allen, among others, are also in the final years of their respective deals.