As the final seconds ticked away in Denver against Kansas City on Thursday night, a couple things became clear. The Denver Broncos aren’t a competitive football team and, unfortunately, there is no easy singular fix.

As Fangio and his team of coaches futilely scramble to right an already sunken ship, some teams around the league are offering players trade lifelines.

Nobody wants to see perennial favorites up on offer to the rest of the league, but that’s exactly where Denver is sitting. On Sunday, it was reported that the last offensive player from the Broncos Super Bowl 50 run is likely to be dealt before the October 29th trade deadline.

...but Sanders likely isn’t the only one.

When you’ve got a team sitting at 2-5 going into week 8, your issues are many and your solutions few. Denver has no choice but to entertain offers on anyone and everyone within reason. Fans can be sentimental about their favorites, Chris Harris, Emmanuel Sanders, and yes, even Von Miller, but the only way the Broncos can get better is to turn the page and start acquiring as much draft capital as they can for 2020 and beyond.

As fans, it’s easy to sit back and advocate or defend one player’s trade rumor over another, but let’s be honest, at 2-5 with such grim prospects for the rest of the season, nobody is safe and nobody should be.

The glory days with these Broncos are behind us and we owe it to those players we love to let them have another shot at success. It’ll be important for fans to remember what the soon-to-be-traded players did for the franchise both on the field and in what their departure brings in for the 2020 draft.

For better or worse, the Broncos rebuild begins this week. Does Denver take full advantage and wring every last draft pick they can from this group of under-performers? Let’s hope so, because standing pat with valuable players may feel good in the moment for sentimental reasons, but sentimentality has too steep a price for which the Broncos can no longer mortgage the future. Stay tuned.

HORSE TRACKS

Broncos Will Consider Trading Emmanuel Sanders, Last Super Bowl 50 Offensive Player – CBS Denver
With less than 10 days to the NFL trade deadline, the Denver Broncos are all ears.

Sources -- Broncos getting trade calls on Emmanuel Sanders
Sanders likely would welcome a change of scenery, the Broncos would welcome a second-day draft pick for him, and the possibility of it happening by Oct. 29 is real, according to sources.

Patriots in the market for Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders, per report
The Patriots are among several teams expected to be seeking wide receiver help before the NFL's trade deadline on Oct. 29, and Broncos wideout Emmanuel Sanders should be a target, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

‘He can be even better than I was’: Former All-Pro Broncos LB Al Wilson sees potential ‘All-Pro, Pro Bowl’ future for Alexander Johnson

Broncos Insider: Who are Denver’s options to replace the struggling Garett Bolles at left tackle? – The Fort Morgan Times

#NFL100 Greatest Characters: Peyton Manning
Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning comes in at No. 47 on the #NFL100 Greatest Characters list. Relive Manning's patented sense of humor, both on the field and off.

The Squeeze: Von Miller's jersey retired by high school alma mater
A concentrated look at the recent juice on the Denver Broncos.

How the Denver Broncos Can Make the Playoffs
The Broncos now have only a 8% chance to make the playoffs.

Video Surfaces Of Wild Brawl Between Nuggets' Malik Beasley And Former Bronco Su'a Cravens
Today, TMZ Sports published security camera footage from an upscale Denver apartment that was taken on August 9 and shows two Denver athletes getting into a heavy brawl. The video shows a shirtless Malik Beasley pacing around the lobby before NFL safety Su’a Cravens, who was cut by the Broncos three weeks after this fight, enters and immediately starts swinging with Beasley. The fight went to the ground, and it took a while before the fight got broken up. Cravens invited Beasley outside, and TMZ says it’s unclear whether things progressed.

Which NFL predictions have you been most wrong about this season? - SBNation.com
We thought the NFC playoff race would go through the Eagles vs. Cowboys and had high hopes for Baker Mayfield’s MVP chances. Oops.

Chiefs still gathering information on Patrick Mahomes' injury, don't intend to make big move for QB - CBSSports.com
The Chiefs are not concerned about injury being season-ending for Mahomes

Aaron Rodgers, Matt LaFleur deliver terrifying Packers statement - NFL.com
Despite the fact Green Bay was off to a fine start in Matt LaFleur's first year on the job, the Packers had provided some underwhelming offensive showings. That changed on Sunday. Jeffri Chadiha says Aaron Rodgers and Co. just made a frightening statement.

Saints stomp Bears, move to 5-0 with Bridgewater – ProFootballTalk
No Drew Brees? No problem. That would have sounded crazy to say about the Saints when Brees suffered the thumb injury that knocked him out for much of this season, but the Saints dominated the Bears 36-25 today and improved to 5-0 in games Teddy Bridgewater has started this season.

Ezekiel Elliott: We don’t care what Doug Pederson says – ProFootballTalk
The Cowboys never formally addressed Doug Pederson's guarantee that wasn't a guarantee, according to a source. They didn't need to. The Cowboys were fully aware that the Eagles coach said on the radio last Monday that the Eagles are “going down to Dallas, and our guys are gonna be ready to play...

FMIA Week 7: ‘NBA Is Coming To The NFL,’ And Rams Are On A Fast Break – ProFootballTalk
Peter King's Football Morning in America column begins with the Rams and their recent flurry of trades and what it says about the NFL today.

Deshaun Watson - Ref said he was protecting me on sack
Deshaun Watson said the ref told him he was trying to protect his health when he called a sack that negated a touchdown.

A.J. Green - Bengals 0-7 start won't affect return
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green said the Bengals' winless start won't affect his timetable for return from injury.

Ravens' Earl Thomas revels in win vs. Seahawks -- 'Came in here with a purpose'
Ravens safety Earl Thomas, who spent his first nine seasons with the Seahawks, said beating his former team on Sunday in Seattle was the "best feeling in the world."

Cowboys' Brett Maher first kicker to make three 60-yard FGs
Brett Maher's 63-yarder on Sunday night is tied for the second-longest field goal in NFL history. He's also hit two 62-yarders.

Jalen Ramsey 'a big boost' as Los Angeles Rams snap losing streak
Jalen Ramsey made his debut Sunday for the Los Angeles Rams, five days after the team completed a stunning trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire the All-Pro cornerback.

Steelers LB Anthony Chickillo faces 3 charges after incident - NFL.com
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo was arrested Sunday and charged with assault, criminal mischief and harassment in Fayette County (Penn.) following a domestic dispute involving his girlfriend, Pennsylvania State Police confirmed to NFL.com.

Christian Wilkins says punch 'was extremely selfish' - NFL.com
Just two plays from scrimmage into Sunday's game against the Bills, Dolphins first-rounder Christian Wilkins was ejected for throwing a punch in an action he called "extremely selfish."

Robert Quinn, Leighton Vander Esch expected to be OK – ProFootballTalk
The Cowboys lost weakside linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and defensive end Robert Quinn during Sunday's game. Vander Esch left with a neck injury, watching the second half on the sideline in street clothes.

Pederson shoulders blame after loss to Cowboys - NFL.com
Eagles coach Doug Pederson bookended the week leading up to Philly's 37-10 prime-time loss to Dallas by making a promise to beat the Cowboys and then shouldering the blame for the lopsided defeat.

Drew Brees plans to return to Saints practice this week - NFL.com
New Orleans sent the Bears into hibernation Sunday, without its starting quarterback, running back and tight end. By this time next week, the Saints could have all three back in uniform.

Ravens' risk pays off on Lamar Jackson's game-winning TD - NFL.com
Fourth-and-2 from the Seattle 8 in a game tied at 13, and John Harbaugh had a decision to make. Michael Silver details how the Ravens put their trust in Lamar Jackson and saw it pay off.

What we learned from Sunday's Week 7 games - NFL.com
Week 7 brought us a handful of historic performances, including from Aaron Rodgers, Marvin Jones and the Niners defense. Here's what we learned from a weird weekend of football

Russell Wilson's first interception of 2019 is a pick-six by new Ravens corner Marcus Peters - CBSSports.com
The Ravens are getting early returns from their new addition

Interest in Antonio Brown picking up around NFL, and a return after the trade deadline is possible - CBSSports.com
Antonio Brown went from the Raiders to the Patriots to free agency in less than a month

Devonta Freeman ejected for punching Aaron Donald during Falcons' game against Rams - CBSSports.com
Freeman was ejected in the third quarter

49ers win over Redskins in shortest NFL game in 10 years; here's how the length of game stacks up all-time - CBSSports.com
The 49ers and Redskins played an NFL game in less than 2 hours and 30 minutes