Paton addresses Bradley Chubb trade rumors, says he’s a “core” player

Amidst all kinds of trade rumors, we had a rare chance to hear from Broncos GM George Paton on Thursday.

One of Denver’s top bosses held an impromptu press conference in London, as the Broncos prepare to face the Jaguars on Sunday. He somehow defended head coach Nathaniel Hackett, explained he believes in Russell Wilson and was also asked about trade scenarios.

Denver’s been linked to several of them with the NFL trade deadline rapidly approaching on Tuesday, and a lot could depend on the result against Jacksonville. At just 2-5 the Broncos could hold a fire sale if they lose. Players such as Bradley Chubb, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler and Dalton Risner have all been mentioned in various rumors.

But the big one is Chubb, with his 5.5 sacks through seven games and playing some of the best football of his career. The former No. 5 overall pick is a free agent at the end of the year, so Paton has a dilemma on his hands. Either trade Chubb now and try to get some real value, or hammer out a contract extension to keep in him in Denver a long time. The third scenario is playing out the season, but risking he leaves town this spring.

When Paton was asked specifically about Chubb on Thursday, he wouldn’t offer much of a comment, but did note he’s a “core” player for the Broncos. And generally you want to keep core guys.

GM George Paton on OLB Bradley Chubb and persistent trade rumors: "I’ll keep that with Bradley and his agent. You know how much we like Bradley. We want to keep all of our core players and he’s one of our core players."

— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) October 27, 2022

That’s an interesting answer. Despite a report a trade of Chubb is “likely” should the Broncos lose, Paton sounds like he wants to keep him in the fold. Then again, this could be gamesmanship. Paton knows other GMs across the league will see these comments, and he could be trying to drive up the price for Chubb.

Again, a lot of this will depend on the result on Sunday. For as silly as that sounds, it’s the truth. 2-6 could mean a fire sale, while 3-5 means refocusing before the bye week with the same roster.

Stay tuned — it should be a really interesting few days with the game and then the deadline.

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