The Denver Broncos have been quietly shopping wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton this offseason. That’s been an ongoing NFL story — until it wasn’t. The Broncos weren’t actually shopping the wide receivers, but other teams were aggressively inquiring about their availability. But hang on — it’s unlikely either will be moved because Denver’s asking price is too high – like a first-round pick for Jeudy. But then the Broncos signed wide receiver Marquez Callaway as a free agent, putting the writing on the wall that Jeudy or Sutton could be traded.

And on and on and on as Jeudy has stayed among the trending Twitter football topics during the NFL’s offseason.

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On Sunday, new Denver coach Sean Payton responded on the record – not rumor, not speculation, not a what-if story.

And Payton said Jeudy and Sutton aren’t going anywhere.

“I see and read just like everyone else does,” Payton told NFL Network. “Then occasionally, when someone really crowds the plate, I throw a fastball right at their chin and they back up, and they’re like, ‘All right.’ And so I haven’t thrown any fastballs lately, but we’re not trading those two players.

“When people call and the phone rings like it does this time of year, (Broncos general manager) George Paton’s job is to pick it up and say, ‘Hey. Tell you what: We’re not.’ And so, we’ve received calls, you bet. Those are two good football players. But we’re in the business of gathering talent right now.

“Why do people call? Because they know we’re void of draft picks and that we might, because there was some discussions a year ago, I think, regarding Courtland. But we like the current group that we’re working with.”

Denver has only five choices in the 2023 NFL Draft, with the first coming in the third round at No. 67 overall.

Jeudy earned consensus All-American recognition at Alabama in 2018, and he was a first-team All-American selection again by the America Football Coaches Association in 2019. During three seasons with the Crimson Tide, Jeudy had 159 receptions for 2,742 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Jeudy entered the NFL as the 15th choice in the 2020 draft.

During his three seasons with the Broncos, Jeudy has 157 receptions for 2,295 yards and nine touchdowns in 41 games.

Denver does have a decision to make about Jeudy this offseason. The deadline for using the fifth-year option on his rookie contract is on May 1.

If the Broncos use their option, it would tie the wide receiver to the team for the 2024 season while guaranteeing Jeudy an estimated payday of $12.987 million — the average of the third- to 25th-highest salaries for wide receivers over the past five seasons – for the 2024 campaign.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.