Sean Payton keeps Broncos’ trade deadline plans quiet heading into bye

Sean Payton isn't saying whether the Broncos will make a move ahead of Tuesday's NFL Trade Deadline

Nov 8, 2026, 2:59 PM

Watch: What if a Jonathan Taylor trade isn't the RIGHT MOVE for the Broncos? | 14 mins

The Denver Broncos are heading into their bye in first place in the AFC West. Before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, Sean Payton isn’t saying whether they’ll make a move.

“That’s impossible to predict,” Payton said after Sunday’s 26-21 win over the Carolina Panthers. “We’ll discuss what’s out there, and I think we’ll see what happens.”

He also made it clear he’s comfortable with the team now.

“I like this team,” Payton said. “There’s room for us to get better, but I like this team a lot, and we just got to take advantage of the position we’re sitting in right now.”

The Broncos (7-2) have been linked to Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor for more than a week. The deadline is 2 p.m. MT Tuesday. There’s also been some talk of Denver looked to add a tight end or wide receiver. The Broncos could also look to plug some holes from an injury here or there on defense.

While Payton didn’t say much about the coming deadline, he said even less when asked about his running backs. Rookie Jonah Coleman started Sunday, a week after his breakout game against Kansas City.

“Jonah did good,” Payton said. “I’m not going to answer running back depth questions, and certainly our running backs aren’t going to sit in front of a 15-minute interview about their playing time.”

He did give an update on RJ Harvey, who is on short-term injured reserve with a knee injury.

“J.K. played, Jonah played. R.J. will be back here shortly,” Payton said. “Man, those guys are really important.”

Payton said the running game struggled Sunday but didn’t blame the backs. He said Carolina’s defensive front took time to figure out.

“I didn’t feel like we ran it particularly well with either of them, and it wasn’t back-driven,” he said. “We threw it better for chunk plays than we ran it, but we got the runs when we needed it later.”

Wednesday, Payton said the running back group wasn’t “a hot button topic” for Denver. He also said the Broncos are “not looking to sell,” and that working three backs “becomes more challenging” than working two. Harvey’s return would give Denver three healthy backs again without a trade.

Denver’s players will be away during the bye. Payton said he got that approach from Andy Reid years ago.

“He just said, ‘I get ’em out of here, and I see ’em the next Monday,'” Payton said. “And ever since we’ve done that, we’ve been pretty good after the bye as well.”

The players will rest. The front office won’t. Payton and general manager George Paton have said they talk every day. By the time the team comes back to prepare for Las Vegas, there might be a new man or two in their locker room.