Broncos’ $60.8 Million Pro Bowl WR Criticized After Win

The Denver Broncos had to figure out a way to make star wide receiver Courtland Sutton happy in the offseason after the former Pro Bowler threatened to not report to training camp without a raise.

 

While the Broncos bent over backwards to meet Sutton’s demands and ultimately gave him a raise that amounted to $1.5 million in incentives in 2024 — on top of the $13.4 million salary he was set to receive — Sutton has done little to return the favor.

 

The latest example of this was Sutton going without a catch in a 33-10 road win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7 in a game where Sutton didn’t even have a single target.

From Bleacher Report: “Wide receiver Courtland Sutton spent this game on a milk carton (which was odd), and Denver still had arguably its best all-around performance of the season. The Broncos are going to need their No. 1 receiver.”

For someone getting paid $61 million to catch a football, Sutton has done little of that at an elite level. Through 6 games in 2024, Sutton leads the Broncos with 21 receptions for 277 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns but hasn’t had a game over 70 receiving yards.

While some of that can be blamed on playing with a rookie quarterback in No. 12 overall pick Bo Nix, it’s hard to look past how average Sutton has been, despite playing on a 4-year, $60.8 million contract extension he signed in November 2021.

 

Sutton No Stranger to No-Catch Games

While Sutton is still the last Denver player to have a 1,000-yard receiving season, that was in 2019, when he made his only Pro Bowl.

 

Since then, he’s been decidedly average and his latest no-catch game is something he’s done repeatedly throughout his career. In fact, it’s the third season in a row where Sutton has had a “milk carton” game where he went without a catch.While you can point to Sutton’s 10 touchdown receptions in 2023 as an example of his productivity, it’s been a long time since he had what could be considered a truly standout game.