We heard just last week that the 1-3 Broncos are not planning to be early sellers in advance of the October 31 trade deadline. Naturally, the team’s decision-making will be impacted quite a bit by how it fares over the next several weeks, and as ESPN’s Adam Schefter writes, Denver has received calls about a number of players on the roster and could be an active participant in deadline activity.
Specifically, the Broncos are willing to listen to offers for any defensive player, according to sources around the league. The team just dealt edge defender Randy Gregory to the 49ers for a minimal return, and fellow pass rusher Frank Clark could be next. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Clark has drawn interest from rival teams, and if he performs well in the coming weeks, that interest will only increase.
Clark was released by the Chiefs prior to the opening of free agency in March, and after he lingered for a couple of months on the open market, he and the Broncos agreed to a one-year contract in June. The plan was for Clark and Gregory to spearhead the Denver pass rush, but as has been the case for most aspects of Sean Payton‘s Mile High tenure thus far, things have not gone according to plan.
Gregory played in just six games in 2022, his first season in Denver, and his lack of effort in the club’s historic drubbing at the hands of the Dolphins in Week 3 of the current campaign led to his losing his starting job for the Broncos’ Week 4 tilt with the Bears (although he entered that game in the second defensive series and ultimately played nearly half of the defensive snaps). Pro Football Focus has Gregory graded as a bottom-10 edge defender through the first four games of the year, and the Broncos needed to eat nearly all of his 2023 salary just to coax a late-round pick swap in 2024 out of San Francisco.
Clark, meanwhile, played in the Broncos’ season-opening loss to the Raiders but suffered a partial abductor tear in practice several days later. He is expected to be back on the field for Denver’s bout with the Jets today, which could be an audition of sorts for potential trade partners. Most of Clark’s compensation came in the form of a signing bonus, so an acquiring team would be on the hook for only the remaining portion of his $1.21MM base salary.
Wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy have generated trade interest in the past several years, and Schefter expects teams to again inquire on both players as October rolls along. Likewise, Armando Salguero of Outkick.com hears that GM George Paton has fielded calls from clubs that believe Denver could be in sell mode, with those calls focusing on Clark, Sutton, Jeudy, and LT Garett Bolles. Quarterback Russell Wilson has not been the subject of any trade inquiries.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the Broncos are not looking to move any of their offensive talent at present. As the team currently ranks last in both total defense and points allowed, it makes sense that Paton would be more inclined to move defensive pieces.
I can see the Bears kicking the tires on a possible trade, but Poles should not give up much. I think, much to the chagrin of some Bears fans, its a race to the bottom again for this year.
No mention of Surtain? He may be their most valuable defensive asset to trade at this point.
That would be a bad move. While Surtain would command a high price, he’s a young player that should be built around in the future.
The problem for Denver is that they’ll have to replace whomever they get rid of, and they don’t have a lot of picks. Unless they want to start Wilson on a terrible team for the next two years and just punt away those seasons, they have to try to build around this roster. Whether it’s Surtain, Jeudy, or Sutton, they’re going to spend a less than premium pick trying to replace a starter. Denver is tied to Wilson until 2026 at the minimum, and nobody else wants that contract.
The two single biggest issues in Denver are that their quarterback does not know the offense, and that their defensive coordinator has unnecessarily changed and poorly installed a new scheme. Trading away talent does not fix that. The current players need to learn their responsibilities, and the coaching needs to make sure that they do. I can’t put that on Payton, though, because the offense looked like that (and worse) last year, which Payton is still trying to address.
If the Broncos could get out from under the Wilson deal, selling would make a lot more sense. As long as they can’t, they need to build for next year and use this one to figure out their plan on offense and defense. Right now, it looks like nobody knows what they’re doing. Denver at this time is a team that needs practice and execution, not more inexperience.
The problem is, the Wilson deal will cripple them for at least two years, and a CB isn’t a key piece of a rebuild. Building the offensive and defensive lines and adding WRs through the draft has to be a priority while they’re dealing with cap issues.
Wilson has been playing great this season so far. He is definitely not the issue in Denver, it’s their defense. Which is easily the worst in the NFL.
He’s much better, but he still is lagging behind. The issue is apparent later in the game when Payton’s scripted plays run out. Wilson doesn’t know the offense well enough to call the next plays on the fly or adjust from Payton’s calls on the field to adapt to the defense.
Now, that’s something that improves with time. As the season goes on, Wilson (and the rest of the offense) will learn and get more comfortable with the playbook and see what works best for them. That’s why I am vehemently against them trading away their starting players on offense, and most of their players on defense. The Broncos need time, edge rush and another corner, and a new defensive coordinator before looking at unloading what they already have. I’m certain, though, that they will trade someone away despite this.
Niners should try trading for K’wan Williams. He’s coming off injury might get him for next to nothing