How long will the Broncos cling to the false hope Courtland Sutton can be an elite NFL receiver before the team ruins all his trade value?

“We ultimately need to find a way to score touchdowns. It’s finding a way to do good, better. Good just isn’t enough for where we are right now,” Sutton said last week, as the Broncos tried to figure out a way to get their first victory of the season on the road in Tampa.

In a Denver offensive huddle that appears to have no clue how to find the end zone, nobody looks more lost and out of sorts than Sutton.

“It takes the whole village to make sure this situation gets resolved,” Sutton said, “and we start finding ways to put touchdowns on the board.”

Although rookie quarterback Bo Nix has targeted Sutton 16 times through two games, the veteran receiver has shown little ability to create separation in the secondary, producing five receptions for an unremarkable 64 yards.

How do the Broncos get Sutton going?

While a noble and worthy cause, that’s also the wrong question.

Here’s my more pressing concern:

By stubbornly overvaluing his worth, have general manager George Paton and the Broncos waited too long to get Sutton out of Denver?

Unlike receiver Jerry Jeudy, who never even tried to hide the fact that he would rather be anywhere except here, Sutton has been a solid teammate and stand-up individual through all the losses and the persistent rumors that the Broncos were open to trading him.

Ever since ripping up his knee in Pittsburgh during the second week of the

COVID-plagued season of 2020, Sutton has morphed into even more of a possession receiver whose strength is winning 50-50 balls than a threat to blow the top off a defense. His yards per catch have steadily declined from 16.8 as a rookie in 2018 to 12.8 this year.

While downplaying speculation that the San Francisco 49ers had offered a third-round draft choice for Sutton during training camp, Broncos coach Sean Payton acknowledged in early September that throughout the course of this year “there have been multiple teams call about Courtland. He’s a good football player.”

And there’s the truth: Sutton is a winning NFL player, with solid value to a team that can utilize him as a big target to move the chains. But at this level, on the verge of his 29th birthday, he is not a game-changer. And never will be.

If the Broncos lose Sunday in Tampa, and there’s little evidence to believe they will win, then even the delusion of making a playoff run will be gone before September ends.

The focus will shift to next year and whether Nix is indeed the quarterback on which Payton truly wants to stake what’s left of his reputation as a championship coach.

Should Denver drop to 0-3, the best dream for this team would be visions of how many snaps Colorado star Travis Hunter could play in an orange and blue uniform as the No. 1 receiver and No. 2t cornerback on the Broncos.

What the Broncos need more than another disappointing season from Sutton is draft capital.

Although the NFL trade deadline is a long way off, in the first week of November, there would be no reason for Denver to wait on a decision with Sutton if any team with legit playoff aspirations were actually willing to surrender a third-round choice for him now.

The Broncos have wasted too much time trying to justify the mistake that was giving Sutton a four-year, $60.8 million contract way back in 2021.

For Denver and Sutton, it’s time to cut those losses and move on.