Keeler: Courtland Sutton trusts his knee. And his wheels. It’s time for Broncos to give him a test drive.

We missed those long, graceful strides. The wiggles. The jukes. Nobody shifts gears successful a blink, erstwhile he’s right, the mode Courtland Sutton does.

From a distance, it’s similar 2020 ne'er happened.  Except for the brace. And the doubts.

“We’re inactive talking astir it, trying to fig retired which (game) we privation to do. I’m decidedly going to play successful 1 of them, conscionable truthful we tin get those crippled reps in, get that archetypal tackle in, if that happens,” said Sutton, the Broncos’ wideout who hopes to trial his reconstructed near genu Saturday nighttime successful Seattle against the Seahawks.

“Yeah, the adrenaline is there. But it’s conscionable a carnal game. And determination (are) definite things that I can’t get successful signifier that I request to get successful a game.”

You can’t propulsion a shot astatine UCHealth Training Center without hitting a dude with thing to prove. Head manager Vic Fangio. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Quarterbacks Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, obviously.

Bridgewater’s successful a declaration year. So’s Von Miller. And Melvin Gordon. And Kyle Fuller. And Bryce Callahan. And Kareem Jackson. And Tim Patrick. And Sutton, who desperately wants to validate that the feline you fell successful emotion with earlier that Week 2 ACL teardrop past autumn is backmost astatine full-speed. Or adjacent enough.

“I ne'er privation to accidental I’m 100% due to the fact that I ever consciousness similar I tin get a small spot more,” said Sutton, who connected Thursday wore a grin connected his look and a brace connected his knee.

“There’s ever a small spot much successful there. I conscionable person to spell pat into it. I deliberation I’m truly close.”

The Seahawks would marque for an awfully bully trial drive, astatine game-speed, against a Pete Carroll defense. But for Sutton, each plant, each twist, each chopped is a lottery ticket.

“He’s connected way to beryllium acceptable to go, truthful we’ll conscionable see,” Shurmur said. “I’m not present for immoderate large uncover connected however agelong guys are going to play — I’ll fto manager (Fangio) bash that. He’s overmuch amended astatine that than me. (Sutton is) connected track. And we consciousness bully astir his progress.”

How they consciousness astir his future, though, remains to beryllium seen. According to OverTheCap.com, the Broncos person the second-most wage headdress space to play with close now, with an estimated $28.1 million. The tract projects them to person $47.1 cardinal successful 2022.

A batch of bodies are slated to travel disconnected the books aft this season, with Miller, who’ll crook 33 adjacent March, astatine the apical of the pile. Spotrac pegs a just marketplace value for Sutton astatine $16.6 cardinal annually, going forward, but that’s besides babelike connected the adjacent four-plus months.

And the knee, of course.

“When the (trainers) accidental go, I go. When they say, ‘Whoa,’ I inactive go,” Sutton laughed.

“I instrumentality it backmost a small spot but I decidedly perceive to the radical who cognize much astir definite things than I do. I admit them knowing however my caput works and however I’m the benignant of idiosyncratic that you springiness maine eight, I’m going to instrumentality 10. They cognize however to bring maine backmost down to 9 — conscionable being astute connected definite things. It’s bully to person radical astir maine that privation to spot maine beryllium palmy and not conscionable tally maine into the ground.”

From a distance, it’s similar Pittsburgh ne'er happened. Except for the scars.

“There was 1 time successful particular,” Broncos defender Graham Glasgow recalled. “(Sutton) might’ve had 2 large catches successful a row, similar 2 catches implicit 20 yards.

“I hadn’t seen him retired determination successful a while. And I was conscionable like, ‘Is that 14?’”

It was. The Courtland Sutton of old, treating gravity and cornerbacks with adjacent disdain, motor purring large capable to aftermath the dead. Some cars are conscionable excessively beauteous to support idling successful the store forever.