AP source: Broncos pick up Jerry Jeudy's fifth-year option

Published May. 1, 2023 1:58 p.m. ET

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The Denver Broncos are picking up wide receiver Jerry Jeudy's fifth-year option, which carries a price tag of just under $13 million in 2024, according to a person familiar with the decision.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasn't announced the move.

Jeudy hasn't lived up to the team's lofty expectations as the 15th overall draft pick in 2020 but he came on strong down the stretch last season when he was finally highlighted in Denver's offense.

Over the final six games, Jeudy caught 37 passes for 523 yards and three touchdowns at the flanker position.

That piqued the interest of other NFL teams but general manager George Paton and new head coach Sean Payton both publicly dismissed the notion that Jeudy was on the trade block this offseason.

Drops bedeviled Jeudy his rookie year and an ankle injury sidelined him two months in Year 2. He played in 15 games last season, catching 67 passes for 972 yards and six touchdowns. In his three seasons, he has 157 catches covering 2,295 yards and nine touchdown catches.

Because he hasn't reached the Pro Bowl or playing-time escalators in his rookie contract, Jeudy's price tag on a fifth year was a lot lower than some of his fellow receivers selected in 2020, including Justin Jefferson, whose fifth-year option in Minnesota is worth $19.743 million.

However, Jeudy's salary in 2024 will balloon by more than $10 million as he's set to make $2.68 million this upcoming season.

The Broncos used their first pick (No. 63 overall) to select Oklahoma receiver Marvin Mims in the NFL draft last weekend. He joins a crowded receiver room that features Jeudy, Tim Patrick and Courtland Sutton. Patrick missed last season with a torn ACL and Sutton hasn't been the same dynamic receiver since blowing out a knee in 2020.

The Broncos also signed free agent Marquez Callaway, one of six former Saints reuniting with Payton in Denver, and other veteran receivers include KJ Hamler, who is recovering from a torn chest muscle, Kendall Hinton and Lil'Jordan Humphrey.

That position promises to feature some of the more heated competition at camp this summer.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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