Sean Payton said he intended to spend part of Monday watching Buffalo film even though the teams don’t play for two weeks.

His eyes, he says, are down the road, even with the trade deadline arriving Tuesday afternoon.

Of course, he also acknowledged that he’ll likely meet with general manager George Paton later in the day. And the phone will probably ring. Perhaps frequently.

“We’re not openly or even remotely shopping anybody,” Payton reiterated Monday.

That is not the same thing as saying the Broncos are sure to stay idle.

“Have people called? Sure they have,” Payton said. “Typically the buyer wants the media to know they called, not the seller. … It’s just a matter of what those other teams deem is important, and it’s hard to predict that.”

The trick, of course, is balancing two straight wins into the bye week with the reality of a 6% playoff probability, the presence of several high-priced veterans who may or may not be in the Broncos’ long-term plan and the fact that Denver has its first-round pick but then no second-rounder and one third-rounder for the 2024 draft.

“We look closely at the roster not only this year but moving into the following year and as you project out, and all of those things are important,” Payton said.

Several players on Sunday said firmly that they believe they can make a run over the second half of the season. Interestingly, the Broncos last year also won a game (against Jacksonville) prior to their bye week and entered trade deadline week at 3-5. Even still, Paton ultimately decided to trade Bradley Chubb to Miami when he got a first-round pick in return.

If a team ups an offer enough in the next 24 hours, perhaps Denver will be similarly compelled to add draft capital.

If not, it’ll be back to the Bills tape for Payton.

Bye week setup. The Broncos had a relatively normal Monday, but then get a week off as the team hits its bye.

“Our guys are all in here today meeting on the game, watching film of the game,” Payton said. “They’ll have a good break here, everyone will be back in Monday and we’ll have a bonus prep day Tuesday.”

That’s because Denver’s next game is Monday night (Nov. 13) in Buffalo, so they’ll get prep days Monday and Tuesday, an off day Wednesday and then a normal three-day workweek Thursday through Saturday.

As for the bye structure itself, Payton said he modeled it after Andy Reid in Philadelphia. When Payton became New Orleans’ head coach in 2006, his team lost after the bye week three straight years, so he sought Reid’s counsel.

Reid told him he got players and coaches alike out of the office after Monday and gave them the whole week.

“We started doing that in New Orleans and started having some success,” Payton said.

After the 0-3 start, the Saints went 10-3 after the bye week from 2009 to ’21 over the rest of Payton’s time with the franchise.

Sutton playing well. Courtland Sutton might not be putting up monster numbers, but he’s playing efficiently.

The Broncos wide receiver has 380 yards so far this season but has caught 71.7% of his targets, the best mark of his career. Not only that, but he’s already tied his single-season best for touchdown catches with six.

“I’m pleased. He’s worked his tail off,” Payton said. “Obviously he’s someone that is super committed to what he’s doing and his craft.”

Sunday, he had two catches for 29, but one was a touchdown and the other was a stellar grab up the sideline. Plus, he drew a pair of pass interference penalties (one accepted), and a stat on the CBS broadcast said his nine drawn DPI flags since the start of last year leads the NFL.

“He’s got real good instincts for the ball when he’s down the field,” Payton said. “He is someone who’s very comfortable in traffic. Some guys are good with the noise and some guys aren’t as good and I think that’s a real strong suit of his.”

Niemann signed. The Broncos on Monday filled their open roster spot by signing inside linebacker Ben Niemann from the practice squad. Niemann, a veteran who’s appeared in 80 games, had been on the practice squad since September. He played special teams for the Broncos against Chicago in his lone appearance this year.

Another team tried to sign Niemann to its 53-man roster this week, a source told The Post, and so the Broncos moved to protect him by promoting him.

Niemann spent 2022 playing for Vance Joseph in Arizona (17 games, nine starts) and before that spent four years in Kansas City.

Niemann gives the Broncos five inside linebackers on their 53-man roster, joining Alex Singleton, Josey Jewell, Drew Sanders and Justin Strnad.

Denver had a roster spot open after putting receiver Brandon Johnson (hamstring) on injured reserve on Saturday.

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.