Broncos not actively trying to sell by NFL trade deadline

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 the 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 at present.

“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) to head into their bye week and 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.