The Broncos answered the phone, like they said they would.
The NFL’s trade deadline came and went Tuesday, however, with no actual action.
Denver fielded interest on several players, including wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, sources told The Denver Post, but ultimately general manager George Paton, head coach Sean Payton and company decided to move forward with a group that’s won two straight games to get to 3-5.
That follows with what Payton told reporters when he said the Broncos were not “openly or even remotely shopping anybody.”
“Have people called? Sure the have,” he added. “… It’s just a matter of what those other teams deem is important and it’s hard to predict that.”
The rest of the league didn’t view prying any of the Broncos’ potential trade candidates like Jeudy, fellow receiver Courtland Sutton, linebacker Josey Jewell or anybody else important enough to meet Denver’s asking price.
Jeudy and Sutton, in particular, were the subject of trade rumors most of the offseason, too, and that could ramp up again after the season concludes. Among the factors in Denver’s approach to the deadline: Most of the players teams asked about are under contract after this year. Jewell is an impending free agent, but Jeudy, Sutton, safety Justin Simmons and left tackle Garett Bolles are all among the veterans who are under contract beyond 2023.
Denver, of course, did make one trade earlier in the season when it sent veteran edge rusher Randy Gregory and a 2024 seventh-round pick to San Francisco for a 2024 sixth-round pick. The team also released veteran edge rusher Frank Clark when it couldn’t find a trade partner for him.
Overall, though, the quiet deadline comes just as the Broncos have won two straight going into their bye week. Most advanced metrics say Denver’s playoff chances are somewhere around 6% and their next opponent – at Buffalo on Monday, Nov. 13 — is a tall test, but Payton’s expressed confidence in this group so far and now they’ll see if they can make a run.
Denver, though, is still short on draft picks for the 2024 draft. After making no trades at the deadline, their quiver looks like this: They have their own first-round pick, no second-round pick and the higher of their own and New Orleans’ third-rounders — the other is going to Seattle after the Broncos traded up in the 2023 draft to select cornerback Riley Moss. The Broncos also have their own fourth-round pick, a pair of fifth-rounders (their own and the New York Jets’ after a trade for Jacob Martin last year) and San Francisco’s sixth-rounder.
Broncos players were adamant after beating Kansas City on Sunday that the focus should be on trying to make a run back toward postseason contention after a seven-year playoff drought. They weren’t interested in hearing about the long odds.
“I think we have the talent on the team as is, and we can definitely make this thing happen,” Simmons said. “(Trade decisions are) above my pay grade. I’m just going to keep showing up for this team and keep trying to find ways to lead and to win and to help my side of the ball be the best that we can be to help us win. If you’re asking me if I love the guys that we have in the room right now and the building, 100%.
“I think we can definitely do it.”
Defensive lineman Zach Allen told The Post he thinks the recent surge is not only sustainable, but that he expected it.
“People don’t realize how much change there was in the offseason,” He said. “Yeah, you get six weeks of training camp, but guys get injured and there’s just so much that has to happen. Live reps have to happen. … We’re starting to find it, hopefully we can continue in this groove. I think we’ve got a good mindset.”
The Broncos’ decision-makers apparently agreed.
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