Sean Payton says the Broncos are not trading WRs Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talked to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero at the annual league meetings and had some updates on the trade rumors surrounding the team's receivers. Despite numerous reports and rumors about Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, Payton stated “we’re not trading those two players”.

Despite reports from local beat writers from multiple teams and national reporters stating otherwise, Payton is “throwing a fastball at their chin” to quiet these reports.

“I see and read just like everyone else does,” Payton said. “Then occasionally, when someone really crowds the plate, I throw a fastball right at their chin, and they back up, and they’re like, ‘Alright.’ And so I haven’t thrown any fastballs lately, but we’re not trading those two players.

Now, Payton does not deny that the Broncos have been receiving calls about their two receivers. He says that they are two good players and that they are in the business of gathering talent right now, not subtracting. He finished by saying that “we like the current group that we are working with”.

“When people call and the phone rings like it does this time of year, George Paton’s job is to pick it up and say, ‘Hey. Tell you what, we’re not.’ And so, we’ve received calls, you bet. Those are two good football players. But we’re in the business of gathering talent right now. Why do people call? Because they know we’re void of draft picks and that we might, because there was some discussions a year ago, I think, regarding Courtland. But we like the current group that we’re working with.”

This is pretty heavy wording by Sean Payton and probably should quiet the trade rumors for now. With that said, this will not be the first time that a head coach or general manager has come out and said something like this before the exact opposite happening down the road. Also, a head coach would not come out and say publicly that they are listening to offers on two players they apparently have a very high asking price on. It is that time of year when teams work leverage through the media and that is what could be happening here.

Their actions alone show that they are not settled with their wide receiving group. They reportedly pushed hard to sign Allen Lazard and had talks with receiver Adam Thielen as well. If the Broncos signed any of those receivers, it likely meant that they would be moving on from one of their current receivers. Now, both of those players signed elsewhere so the Broncos' plans could have changed where they intend to keep both receivers.

I am not saying Payton is lying to us. He could very well be telling the truth and the Broncos will enter the season with Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, and Tim Patrick at wide receiver like we all assumed they would. It could also mean that Payton and the Broncos are working the leverage game through the media. It has been widely reported that they have a “very high” asking price on both receivers and no team has met those demands as of yet. So, putting this out there publicly will only solidify their demands even more.

At the end of the day, we probably will not truly know what will happen here until the draft rolls around next month.

Update

9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis tweeted out that Payton’s comment confirms his initial report that the Broncos are not trading wide receiver Courtland Sutton and Jeudy. However, he also says a source at the league meeting is saying the Broncos asking price for Jeudy is a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick for Sutton.

So which is it? The Broncos are not dealing their Jeudy and Sutton or will not deal them unless teams meet their high asking price? As I said earlier, we probably will not know until the draft rolls around.