NFL teams don’t seem to believe Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton.
One day before he spoke publicly at the NFL owners’ meeting in Arizona last week, Payton told NFL Network that the Broncos will not trade wide receiver Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton this offseason.
Payton then doubled down during his press conference last Monday, stating emphatically once again that Denver does not plan to trade either WR.
“I think it’s pretty common every offseason,” Payton said of the team getting trade calls about Jeudy and Sutton. “[There is a] new coach [and it’s] not a real deep receiver draft. You read a bunch of these things that are written now. I would say a number of teams have called on those players. I said it yesterday — it’s not something that we’re interested in doing.”
Despite those comments from Payton, teams continue to call about Jeudy and Sutton — and the Broncos continue to pick up the phone.
“The Broncos aren’t hanging up the phone when teams call them about receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton,” Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano reported on ESPN.com last week. “Denver needs picks and knows it could get something of value in return for one of those guys.”
Even Payton himself admitted that trade talks will likely continue leading up to — and perhaps during — the draft later this month.
“It will continue, I’m sure, as we get closer to the draft,” Payton said. “If you really look at the draft and you really look at the receiver depth in the draft, it’s not a real deep draft.”
Denver is believed to be seeking at least a first-round pick for Jeudy and unless somebody meets the team’s asking price, the receiver will remain with the Broncos. Payton might be assuming that no team will meet Denver’s asking price, allowing him to directly say neither WR will be traded.
Things can change quickly in the NFL, though, and there are countless examples of coaches saying one thing before doing something else. But if we take Payton at his word, Jeudy and Sutton aren’t going anywhere.
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