Report: Demaryius Thomas Won’t Workout at Duke With Peyton
According to ESPN’s Jeff Legwold, franchise player Demaryius Thomas will not be working out with the Broncos this offseason, and that includes with Peyton Manning at the voluntary Duke facility workouts.
Just spoke to Demaryius Thomas -- in L.A for Call of Duty charity event ... he won't work out at Duke w/Mannjng or be at offseason program.
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) March 30, 2015
Count this one as a bummer, but nothing unexpected.
Thomas, like any player slapped with a franchise tag, shouldn’t be expected to report to any offseason activities, as per the norm. Players who are given a franchise tag are usually elite players at their positions, and for Thomas to be on a guaranteed one year contract only means he’s guaranteed nothing after this year.
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If he were to get hurt at voluntary offseason workouts and diminish his value to the Broncos or any other team out there, he would look like a fool.
Plus, Thomas is already recovering from injury and getting his body right. As Legwold reported, he’s been working out in Atlanta this offseason.
This news is a bummer because we’ve all grown to know and love the Peyton Manning workouts at Duke, getting to see team chemistry and how things go behind the scenes, but we can’t really blame or be upset with Demaryius Thomas because this is standard protocol for players who’ve been tagged.
In all likelihood, we’ll see the star receiver at training camp when he has hopefully signed a multi-year contract to remain a Bronco through the best years of his football playing days.
If a contract is not reached, there’s a decent chance Thomas could hold out until the regular season (in my opinion) based on what we’ve seen from players in the past. This guy is competitive, and a hard worker, and the Broncos are installing a new offense. The longer he lingers away from team facilities, the longer it’s going to take everyone (that needs to be) to get on the same page.
Hopefully this doesn’t drag out too long.