Payton expects WR Sutton to be on hand for Broncos' three-way quarterback competition

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos are about to begin their three-way quarterback competition, and coach Sean Payton expects wide receiver Courtland Sutton to be on hand for all of it.

Sutton made a brief appearance at the team's mandatory minicamp last month after skipping OTAs in a contract quarrel with the Broncos. He wants a bump in the $13 million salary he’s due in 2024 after catching a career-best 10 touchdowns in 2023 and he hinted last month that his reporting to training camp hinged on signing a new deal.

The Broncos haven't budged. Asked Tuesday when veterans reported for training camp if he'd had any recent contact with his star receiver, Payton said, “No, and there will not be any. He will be here like we talked about and ready to go.”

The Broncos kick off training camp on Friday when rookie Bo Nix will compete for the starting quarterback job with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson.

The three split snaps with the No. 1 offense during OTAs.

Payton has previously said he had no timetable for naming his starter and he didn't divulge much Tuesday when asked how he'll divvy up the work.

“We’ll mix it up again,” Payton said. “Obviously, it won’t stay that way for the long term. As we get started, we will keep you posted. Eventually, we will settle into the routine we want.”

He refused to say who will get the first crack at running the offense.

“I’m not going to sit here and lay out, ‘Here’s how it goes,’ because I think the mistake made is deciding how it goes,” Payton said. “Organically in my experience, we will see a rotation initially and then we will move on from there.”

Nix is vying to become the first Broncos rookie quarterback to start the opener since John Elway in 1983. He'll have to beat out Stidham, who started the final two games last season, and Wilson, who was acquired from the Jets just before the draft, in which Nix was the last of a record six QBs selected in the first round.

Nix has embraced the challenge of playing in a quarterback-crazed city that celebrated Elway and Peyton Manning but which has suffered through 13 starting quarterbacks since Manning retired following Denver's Super Bowl 50 title in the 2015 season.

The Broncos haven't been back to the playoffs since, and they haven't had a winning season since 2016.

There are low external expectations for the Broncos in 2024 following an eight-win season in Payton's inaugural campaign in Denver. BetMGM lists the Broncos' over/under win total at 5.5, lowest in the AFC West, after Denver lost plenty of veteran leadership with the offseason departures of Justin Simmons and Josey Jewell.

Payton bristled when asked if he uses those prognostications as a motivational tool.

“If I spent time on that in 2006, we would have never gone to the NFC championship game — and I mean that seriously — back in my first year in New Orleans,” Payton said. “I don’t have time to spend time on that, nor do I wish to spend time on that. ... We will get ready to play. We expect to compete and expect to win.”

Payton said he anticipates oft-injured tight end Greg Dulcich will practice when camp opens. Dulcich, who has missed the majority of his two NFL seasons with hamstring issues, didn't make an appearance during the offseason workouts.

The Broncos signed guard Quinn Meinerz to a four-year, $80 million extension this week. Asked if star safety Patrick Surtain was next in line for a big payday, Payton said, “yes, we would like to” sign him to a new deal.

The Broncos have high expectations for Surtain as he enters his fourth NFL season, but Payton said they weren't necessarily pushing him to be more vocal in light of the veteran leadership vacuum they now face.

“I want him to be himself. I think he has always been a guy that leads on the field with his performance. Maybe not as vocal as others, so I’m not looking for a change in that regard, really," Payton said.

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