INDIANAPOLIS -- The Denver Broncos' top football decision-makers, coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton, made it clear at the NFL combine on Tuesday that wide receiver Courtland Sutton is in the team's plans beyond 2025, the last season of his current contract.
"Courtland is one of our guys, team captain -- I've said this a couple years in a row -- we want him here," Paton said at Lucas Oil Stadium. "Those discussions will happen at the right time."
Sutton was an important part of the Broncos' offense this past season and was crucial in the development of rookie quarterback Bo Nix, leading Denver in receptions (81), receiving yards (1,081) and touchdowns (eight). Those figures far exceeded every other Bronco, as the 29-year-old Sutton finished with 40 more receptions, 578 more receiving yards and two more touchdowns than the Broncos' next-best wide receiver.
The chemistry between Sutton and Nix has been clear, given that Sutton has been one of the most vocal supporters of Nix's future as a team leader. Nix has credited Sutton with playing a significant role in his transition from rookie quarterback who didn't have a touchdown pass until Week 4 to player whose 29 touchdown passes were the second most by a rookie in NFL history.
Sutton's importance to Nix, who the Broncos believe is their long-term solution at quarterback, puts the receiver's contract status near the top of Denver's to-do list. It's just a question of timing, according to Payton and Paton.
"We felt like he had a real good season," Payton said. "He's important to what we're doing."
He also was the player Nix trusted most in virtually every situation. Sutton was tied for 21st in the league in tight-window receptions -- where the nearest defender is less than a yard away at the catch -- and was the only Broncos player among the league's top 90 in the category. He also finished with 135 targets, 65 more than the Broncos' No. 2 player (running back Javonte Williams) and 80 more than the Broncos' next-highest wide receiver (Devaughn Vele).
Sutton is scheduled to earn a $13.5 million base salary in the upcoming season. According to sources familiar with the situation, the Broncos are aware that Sutton would prefer not to play the 2025 season on his current deal.
Sutton, a second-round pick by the Broncos in 2018, is the second-most-tenured Bronco behind offensive tackle Garett Bolles, who was Denver's first-round pick in 2017. Sutton said this past season that Denver "is the place I want to be able to retire."
Paton said Sutton's agent, Jacob Presser, will be among those he speaks to informally this week, but that substantive discussions on an extension would happen later. Payton added that "all of that will happen in time [with Sutton] and I don't think now is the right time."
Sutton stayed away from the Broncos' offseason program last spring, including every OTA session, while attempting to get a new deal, but attended the team's mandatory minicamp in June and reported on time for training camp. He also organized workouts at Southern Methodist University, his alma mater, for the quarterbacks and many of the skill position players in the weeks before training camp.
There were some contentious moments in discussions between the Broncos, who wrestled with $84 million of dead money against their cap in 2024, and Sutton's representatives. The Broncos didn't add any new guaranteed money to Sutton's deal, instead turning $11.79 million of his scheduled base salary for the 2024 season into a signing bonus that he received immediately after the agreement.
The Broncos added some performance incentives for this past season as well as the 2025 season. Those included separate $500,000 bonuses that Sutton earned in 2024 for gaining 500, 750 and 1,065 receiving yards, respectively.
Some in the league believe the Broncos might take a long look at some of the high-profile receivers in free agency, a list that could include the Bengals' Tee Higgins as long as the Bengals don't franchise-tag the 26-year-old. It's unclear if a significant free agent signing would impact talks with Sutton, who is the primary X receiver, or split end, in the Broncos' offense.
Sutton usually lined up at the X as the receiver on the opposite side of the formation from the tight end. The Z receiver, which usually plays on the same side of the formation as the tight end and is often used in pre-snap motion, was filled mostly by Marvin Mims Jr., a second-round pick in 2023, and Troy Franklin, a fourth-rounder in 2024.
Payton said Tuesday he liked how Mims closed the season, and also Franklin's potential to keep working opposite Sutton.
"We see [Franklin] as a Z. We move our guys around a little bit so it's not exclusive," Payton said. "But thought he had a good rookie year. Sometimes he's in that same position as Mims is at, so we have two guys certainly -- we've gotten faster because those guys can run.
"We saw that growth spurt with Marvin in Year 2. But I would say I was real pleased how [Franklin] handled the totality of the rookie season."
