Buying Paton’s 2nd-half expectations after trade?
Parker Gabriel, Post Broncos reporter
I buy that saying the team’s expectations don’t change is the thing general manager George Paton needed the Denver locker room to hear him say after dealing the captain of one of the NFL’S best defenses. And you don’t need to squint that hard to see how a deep, talented Broncos passrushing group can cover Chubb’s loss over a rugged second half of the season. Denver’s defense has been salty without Randy Gregory, so if in the next couple of weeks they get him back and roll with Gregory, Baron Browning, Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper, that dog can still hunt. Teams that think they’re playoffbound, though, don’t deal their best players. They just don’t. Maybe the pick and the long-term capital helps this team far more in 2023 and beyond than Chubb could have. That’s definitely possible. But Denver’s not a better 2022 team today than it was Monday.
Sean Keeler, Post sports columnist
Actions, not words. Dre’mont Jones’ tweet, in which he made no bones about his disappointment at Chubb’s departure, probably spoke for a lot of the Broncos’ locker room Tuesday, if not the entire defense. (Although Dre’mont also wants to get paid, and getting No. 55 off the books certainly helps on that front.) Interesting nugget: The
NFL teams that traded for multiple draft picks this month, a club that includes the Broncos, head into Week 9 with a combined record of 27-35 (.435), and if you take out the Vikings (6-1) and Giants (6-2), the rest of that subset is just 15-32 (. 319). I mean, let’s be real here. Even if Paton made Chubb potentially expendable six months ago by signing Gregory and drafting Bonitto, you don’t move a Pro Bowl pass-rusher at the deadline if you’re trying to win now. You move him if you’re trying to salvage 2023 and beyond. And you should.
Kyle Newman, Post Broncos reporter
On Tuesday, Paton claimed that the Broncos would’ve made the Chubb trade “regardless” of their record, which is pure baloney. If Denver wasn’t already multiple wins behind the pace in the wild card race, Chubb would still be in orange and blue. What is more realistic is that the GM realizes there are a lot of growing pains going on in Year 1 under Nathaniel Hackett and Russell Wilson, and that the chances of this team turning the tables in the second half are exceedingly slim. Credit Paton for getting maximum market value out of Chubb, who was injured most of 2019 (ACL surgery) and 2021 (multiple ankle surgeries) and would have warranted a big contract as a free agent this offseason. But don’t believe the Gm-speak — if Denver was 5-3, had a proficient offense and was giving off signs they might be able to surge through their tough-second half schedule, Paton wouldn’t have traded No. 55.