Jerry Jeudy's $12.9M 5th-Year Contract Option Reportedly Exercised by Broncos

Coming off the most productive season of his career, the Denver Broncos have reportedly exercised the fifth-year option in Jerry Jeudy's rookie contract.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the Broncos' decision, with Zac Stevens of TheDNVR.com adding that the wide receiver will earn $12.9 million during the 2024 season.

Expectations have been high for Jeudy since he was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He was a star at Alabama, becoming the second player in school history to win the Biletnikoff Award when he did it in 2018.

Despite having erratic quarterback play during his rookie season, the 23-year-old led the Broncos with 856 receiving yards and averaging 16.5 yards per reception.

The Broncos signed Teddy Bridgewater to provide some stability at quarterback for the 2021 season. He was OK, but the offense failed to take steps forward in part because Jeudy was limited to 10 games due to a high-ankle sprain.

Bringing in Russell Wilson was supposed to give Denver the quarterback answer it has been trying to find since the end of Peyton Manning's career. But things fell apart for virtually everyone.

The Broncos offense ranked 29th in Football Outsiders' DVOA and last in the NFL in points. Nathaniel Hackett was hired in January but fired 11 months later after a 4-11 start.

Jeudy was one of the few offensive players in Denver who had a solid season. He had a career-high 67 receptions, 972 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 15 games.

Another encouraging sign for the Broncos was the offense showing some signs of life late in the season. It averaged 24.2 points per game over the final five weeks and put up a season-high 471 yards in a Week 18 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

As long as new head coach Sean Payton is able to maximize Wilson's skill set at this stage of his career, the Broncos are good enough to be a playoff contender as soon as next season. The defense ranked in the top 10 in DVOA, even after trading Bradley Chubb in the middle of the season.

The Broncos will have a solid receiver group with Jeudy, Courtland Sutton and a healthy Tim Patrick. There's still a lot of upside with this offense, as long as Wilson can rebound.

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported on March 13 the Broncos had trade talks with teams about Jeudy, Sutton and KJ Hamler, but they were asking for a premium price to move any of them.

Even if the Broncos might want to move on from Jeudy for whatever reason, exercising his option for 2024 indicates they recognize he is still a very valuable player for them. If the offense can rebound under Payton, it's not hard to see Jeudy emerging as a legitimate No. 1 receiver for this team.

Jeudy's fifth-year option gives the Broncos two more years of control before they have to make a decision about signing him to a long-term deal. He's shown enough promise to believe he can be a significant contributor to this offense for years to come.