The Denver Broncos traded a sixth-round pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for tight end Adam Trautman and a seventh-round pick last week.
After the swap was completed, Trautman told KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis that he was the one that initiated the process by requesting a trade.
“I was actually hoping to get moved,” Trautman told Klis. “This was initiated by me personally. I’ve been waiting for a little bit for something to materialize and it just happened to be the Broncos.”
To help the trade cross the line, Trautman agreed to restructure his contract.
Trautman was apparently unhappy with how New Orleans utilized him. After catching 27 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games under Sean Payton in 2021, Trautman’s totals dropped to 18/207/1 in 15 games last season. He will now reunite with Payton in Denver.
“They put a limit on what I could contribute and I felt like I could contribute a lot more,” Trautman said. “I was primarily used as a blocker. I thought I could do more … I want a chance to prove I can do it because I believe I can and I have in the past.”
Trautman will be asked to block again in Denver, but he might be more involved in the passing game than he was with the Saints last year.
“He’s the versatile tight end that can play the ‘F’ tight end,” Payton said after the draft. “He played a lot, most recently, on the ball. Generally, when you draft a tight end out of college, they do one thing better than the other. [Usually a] blocker first. When we drafted Adam, we felt like was one of those guys that was solid in both areas.”
Payton said the Broncos were comparing Trautman to third-round tight end prospects in this year’s class. After not drafting a TE, Denver was excited to land Trautman in a late-round pick swap.
“Obviously, we have a little head start on the history because we drafted him,” Payton said. “That was something that was just as exciting as any part of [picking players] because that was something we were looking for. He’s coming in with his versatility as a blocker, but then as a receiver.”
Trautman was originally drafted by Payton in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. He now reunites with the coach that plans to employ him both as a blocker and as a receiver.
