After taking over as head coach for the Denver Broncos last season, Sean Payton was thought to be potentially the missing piece to the puzzle in the Mile High City and what was needed to unlock veteran quarterback Russell Wilson.
Unfortunately, at least for the first half of the 2023 campaign, that was not the case as the Broncos continued to struggle and appeared to be headed toward another disastrous end to an NFL season in Denver.
Even though the Broncos still ended up with a losing record at 8-9 and missed the NFL playoffs once again, the future started to look a little brighter under Payton, as long as Denver was able to make the right moves during the offseason.
The first move was parting ways with Wilson and finding his replacement, who could be rookie Bo Nix or one of two veterans, Jarrett Stidham or Zach Wilson.
A key to the new starter’s success under center will be star wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who Payton let it be known is very important to the team moving forward, via Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
“He’s important to what we’re doing,” Payton said. “He didn’t have to visit with the media. I told him, ‘It’s up to you if you want to do it.’ And so, to his credit, he did. I would say he’s important, and I think he knows that.”
#Broncos Payton on importance of Sutton. pic.twitter.com/4JV0gSj0eh
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) June 12, 2024
Despite the team’s struggles and Wilson not being the answer under center, Sutton is coming off his best season with the Broncos, as he caught 59 passes for 772 receiving yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns.
If Sutton can continue to put up numbers like that and potentially improve upon them, the Broncos will have a solid target for their new starting quarterback to work with moving forward.
The post Sean Payton Speaks Out On The Importance Of Courtland Sutton appeared first on The Cold Wire.