The Bo Show won’t go if Courtland’s a schmo.
“When we get into a game, I know he’s going to be in,” Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix reflected last November when asked about Courtland Sutton. “I know he’s going to take the rep. I know we’ve gotten that rep during practice, so I have all the confidence in the world throwing it to him. Then in games … (where) we needed to get a spark in the second half, and he just goes to work (on) 1-on-1s, and he makes great catches.
“I know he’s going to be there. And it’s comforting having a guy like that.”
Sutton could’ve been a royal pain last fall. By NFL WR1 standards, the man was occasionally underwhelming — but also consistently underpaid. (Per OverTheCap.com, the top 10 highest-paid wideouts averaged $26.6 million in salary last fall, while Sutton took home roughly $15 million.)
No. 14 could’ve pouted. He could’ve turned a young, patchwork locker room into about 31 flavors of toxic. Instead, right tackle Mike McGlinchey said this of Sutton to 104.3 The Fan a few months back: “His ability to ignite a locker room, his personality — infectious. He never quits.”
You can’t fake giving a darn in Dove Valley, where careers are too short and the stakes too high. After a spring holdout that was more symbolic than expensive, Sutton put his ego down and got to work. And Nix isn’t the same fix without No. 14 swallowing his pride and leading from the front. Sutton became the rookie’s top target and best friend, setting career highs in targets (135), catches (81) and receiving first downs (57).
Sutton doesn’t turn 30 until October with a contract that expires after next fall. I’d extend Zach Allen and Nik Bonitto before I’d extend Big Court — but I’d extend him, nonetheless.
The Patriots just threw $69 million over three seasons ($26 million guaranteed) at Stefon Diggs. Which means if coach Sean Payton doesn’t pull the Brink’s truck up to Sutton’s front porch, some other team will.
“I’m excited that he’ll be (at the off-season program) whenever we get going and we’ll go from there,” Payton told reporters in Florida during the league meetings Monday. “But I know there isn’t any timeline (for negotiations).”
There is a pretty fair comp, though — and it’s Diggs, who’ll turn 32 in November while coming off a season cut short by a torn ACL. Over his last 25 regular-season appearances with Buffalo and Houston, the wideout turned 39.7% of his 224 targets into first downs, converted 4.9% of those targets into touchdowns and dropped 4.9% of them, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Over Sutton’s last 25 regular-season games, per the same site, he’s turned 41.9% of his 179 targets into first downs, 6.7% of those targets into touchdowns and dropped 7.8% of them.
Pretty close. Spotrac.com pegs Sutton’s value on the current market at $26.6 million per season. The site suggested a 3-year deal worth $79.8 million.
That’s a lot of scratch for a guy on the wrong side of 30 with a history of knee problems. The length might be too short for Sutton, who wants to retire a Bronco. And if Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, a legit 6-foot-4 with a 34-inch vertical, is still sitting there at pick No. 20, he’d be a tempting grab — either to pair with Sutton or to groom as No. 14’s successor.
But in the meantime, a growing offense with a second-year QB needs all the big brothers it can hang onto right now. The wide receiver room without Sutton, while talented, is still awfully young. The kids in the skill position room look up to him. They’re going to follow his lead. They’re also going to remember how he’s treated by Payton and the Penners in the months to come.
