Despite making the NFL Playoffs in 2021, many Chargers fans wanted the team to hire Sean Payton to be the team's next head coach after Brandon Staley's second season. The Chargers ultimately decided to keep Staley for another year, and Payton found a different job with the Denver Broncos.
Payton was joining a situation in Denver that was as tumultuous as it was polarizing. A year before the Broncos traded a first and second-round pick to New Orleans to hire Payton, the team traded two first-round picks to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson.
Wilson's first season in Denver was a disaster and Payton was meant to be the savior in Denver. That ultimately did not happen, as the Broncos put together another disappointing season that led to the team cutting Wilson. With the move, the Broncos have the largest dead cap hit in NFL history on the books.
Denver has been one of the worst-run organizations in the sport in recent years and the self-implosion has continued. The Broncos have traded 2020 first-round pick Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns for a fifth and sixth-round pick in a move that is a salary dump for the franchise. It is never great when you have to trade a first-round pick for two day-three picks.
Trade: Broncos and Browns agreed to a deal today that will send WR Jerry Jeudy to Cleveland in exchange for two draft picks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 9, 2024
Cleveland made a run at Jeudy at last season’s trade deadline. Now the Browns finally will get him once trade is processed this week. pic.twitter.com/G0XlwDXlAr
Broncos' continued self-implosion is hilarious for Chargers fans
For those that are keeping track at home, the Broncos have cut Russell Wilson, cut standout safety Justin Simmons and have now traded their 2020 first-round pick in Jerry Jeudy. To be fair, Jeudy never quite lived up to his draft status in Denver, but it does not make the move any better.
Denver will save just under $13 million by trading Jeudy away, and in the grand scheme of things, it probably makes more sense to do this. The Broncos know they are not going anywhere this season, so the team might as well save some money and trade someone in a contract year.
But man, the difference in expectations vs reality has been stark for the Broncos. If you had told Chargers fans four years ago that Denver would be trading for Wilson, hiring Payton, and drafting one of the best cornerbacks in the league then every fan would have assumed that Denver would take over as the best team in the AFC West.
Instead, the Broncos have taken the mantle of the worst-run team in the division. Denver has firmly hit the reset button, and it is going to be a long time until the team is competitive again.