Payton: Broncos not ‘even remotely shopping anyone’ at trade deadline

Are the Broncos sellers at the trade deadline? After Sunday’s win over Kansas City, perhaps not. At the minimum, they’re not actively looking to sell.

“We’re not openly or even remotely shopping anyone,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said Monday during his conference call with Denver-area media.

That doesn’t mean they’re not on the phone. But it’s a matter of fielding calls and responding to them, rather than actively seeking out trade partners for any of their players.

Sean Payton: "We're not openly or even remotely shopping anyone. So, have people called? Sure, they have. And typically, the buyer wants the media to know they've called. Not the seller. " pic.twitter.com/CVNF8ptG4N

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) October 30, 2023

“So, have people called? Sure, they have,” Payton said. “And typically, the buyer wants the media to know they’ve called. Not the seller.”

To that end, Payton’s focus Monday wasn’t on the looming trade deadline — which arrives at 2 p.m. MDT on Tuesday — but getting a jump start on preparation for the trip to Buffalo, which comes a fortnight from now.

“And so, we’re preparing — I’ve got a Buffalo cutup that I’m gonna look at. I’m going to look at the league’s touchdowns from yesterday. And I’m sure at some point, I’ll meet with George (Paton),” Payton said.

“But we’re looking at the next opponent, and, obviously, it’s a bye week and it’s a Monday night game, so the schedule changes a little.”

The bye week doesn’t change anything in regards to how the Broncos attack the trade deadline, Payton said.

“I don’t know .. if it’s any different because we have a bye.,” Payton said. “I would say it’s probably the same, and it’s just a matter of what those other teams, what they deem is important. And it’s hard to predict that.”

So, after two-consecutive wins and the playoffs now not looking so far-fetched, that spurred another question: Are the Broncos buyers?

Well, maybe.

“Look, there’s nothing to say that we might not be in that business,” Payton said.

Whether the Broncos add players is subject to discussion. Certainly, the team’s draft capital plays a factor; they don’t have a second-round pick next year as a result of the trade for Payton’s rights.

“We have those discussions, and we look closely at the roster, and then we look closely not only at the roster this year, but the roster moving forward in the following (years) as you project out, and all of those things are important,” Payton said.

“Typically speaking, we’re past that quarter-pole, but most NFL rosters change the most in those first four or five weeks. You’ve seen us add a few players. Obviously, some guys go to the practice squad. That’ll continue to some extent.”

But that doesn’t mean they’ll be dealing at the deadline.

And at this moment, the odds seem high that Tuesday could be quieter than anyone expected just two weeks ago. After all, the team is in a different spot than it was at 1-5.

“When you beat a quality opponent,” Payton said, “you begin to see yourself in that same light.”

And that light could involve hanging up the phone.

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