Payton responds to Sutton potentially not being at training camp

The saga between the Denver Broncos and wide receiver Courtland Sutton seems to be getting better.

At least, a little bit.

Sutton reported to mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and Wednesday, avoiding a fine that could’ve been more than $100,000. But Sutton made it clear he still wants an adjusted contract from the Broncos, and said multiple times that he and the team seem to be at a “stalemate.”

And even bigger news than that, was Sutton responding to the question of if he’ll be at training camp at July and August. “We’ll see,” Sutton told reporters before elaborating.

That raised some eyebrows, considering a potential hold-out could still be in the cards.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton was asked about that on Wednesday by 104.3 The Fan’s Zach Bye, specifically how important it is to have Sutton present while they prepare for the season.

“Courtland and I met this morning for quite a while. We have a good relationship. He’s important to what we’re doing and and he didn’t have to visit with the media. I told him it’s up to you if you want to do it. And so to his credit he did and so yeah, I would say he’s important. And I think he knows that,” Payton said.

Sutton met with the media to get his message out, and that’s his right. But it’s beyond obvious Sutton wants more money, and we’ll see if Payton is willing to give it to him.

In the meantime, he knows Sutton is important. Especially when Denver has a rookie QB in Bo Nix, and needs all the weapons he can get.

Will that be enough for the Broncos to budge from the $13.6 million Courtland Sutton is supposed to make in 2024? We should get an answer sooner rather than later.

(Update 9:03 p.m.) –

Sutton spoke at a charity event on Wednesday night about his meeting with Payton.

Courtland Sutton starts by talking about his morning meeting with Sean Payton … and then talks about the lack of outside respect manifested in the dearth of prime-time games for the Broncos.

“I think that we’re gonna go out there and shock a lot of people,” Sutton says. pic.twitter.com/ouvREqdPdl

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) June 13, 2024

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