The Denver Broncos were already going to be without one captain this year when Terrance Knighton was let go and signed with the Washington Redskins, but missing Demaryius Thomas for the offense is another presence entirely.
Even if he’s only a fraction of the size.
Thomas, the Broncos’ leading receiver the last three seasons and one of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL, was given the franchise tag designation earlier this offseason, and has chosen to sit out (albeit voluntary) OTAs up to this point. There’s still optimism that a new deal will get done by training camp, but no one really knows at this point what progress has been made.
Not even Thomas’ closest friends on the team could really shed much light on that. Not like they would anyway.
“When you are out there on the field you certainly wish No. 88 was out there,” Peyton Manning said at day one of Broncos OTAs. “But at the same time Demaryius is a young player, he has played extremely well his first few years of his career, in my opinion has established himself as one of the top receivers in the NFL and like I said I want what’s best for him. Hopefully there’s that happy medium for both side and we can get him in here soon and put that all behind everybody.”
Manning isn’t the only one who wants DT back in orange and blue. Emmanuel Sanders talked about how he and Von Miller had talked to Thomas, and were hopeful he’d be back at some point in the near future, but that’s the business side of the game.
The business side of the game can really suck sometimes.
“Obviously we want to know what’s going, but actually we just called to tell him we miss him,” Sanders said.” I could tell he definitely missed being out here.”
Oct 5, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (88) during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
What the Broncos really need to do is what Manning said — find the happy medium. However, unlike Manning, you can’t really ask Demaryius Thomas to take a pay cut because this is his first and maybe only big contract in the NFL. He’s going for top dollar, and the Broncos haven’t — to this point — budged on their stance that they aren’t going to pay it.
But who knows, maybe they eventually will.
As Jeff Legwold pointed out, the two sides have exchanged proposals since April and contract discussions remain open with that knowledge. As Legwold also pointed out, Thomas has put up some sick numbers.
He’s the third player in NFL history with 1,400 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns in three consecutive seasons. He’s in a club there with only Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison.
Many Super Bowl teams lately haven’t had to pay top dollar for receivers in order to win it, but Thomas may be an exception.