Sean Payton responds to big Courtland Sutton trade rumor

August 19, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) during halftime against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

A recent report suggested that the Denver Broncos’ refusal to trade Courtland Sutton was a key factor in the collapse of a proposed Brandon Aiyuk trade. Broncos coach Sean Payton, however, would not go that far.

Payton suggested Monday that reports about the San Francisco 49ers offering a third-round pick to try to land Sutton might not have been entirely accurate. Payton did not deny that Sutton had received interest, but hinted that trade talks did not actually get that far.

“I’m going to say in the last three months, there have been multiple teams call about Courtland,” Payton told reporters, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “He’s a good football player. It’s a little bit of a stretch relative to the specifics. I read the same thing you read, and I would say we didn’t get nearly as far down the road as what may have been reported. It’s insignificant. For me to comment on every call that comes in to [General Manager] George [Paton] or myself would be ludicrous.”

Reports indicated that the 49ers would only deal Aiyuk if they could get a solid replacement. They wound up re-signing Aiyuk instead, as their efforts to trade for someone else were clearly rebuffed.

At points this offseason, Sutton sounded like a player who wanted to leave. Eventually, Denver worked out a new deal with him that added some incentives, and they clearly weren’t eager to trade him.