Demaryius and Julius Thomas, Broncos to Talk Extensions Into Pre-Season
January 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) runs the ball against the New England Patriots in the second half of the 2013 AFC Championship football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Broncos have been trying to hammer out contract extensions for star wide receiver Demaryius Thomas as well as tight end Julius Thomas over the Summer, but so far nothing has come of it in terms of pen being put to paper.
Per Lindsay Jones of USA Today, John Elway doesn’t plan on extending contract talks much more than another month.
"“Nothing is going to get done before camp, but we’ll keep talking to them in camp…I’m never going to go into the season, but the first couple of weeks, we can continue to talk about it. After the second week of the preseason, we’ll want to have had something done, one way or another,” Elway said."
So, what we can decipher from that statement by Elway is this.
1. There will be no new contract for Demaryius or Julius Thomas in the next seven days.
2. A contract could be signed up to but probably no later than August 17th.
But wait, there’s more…
Elway didn’t exactly call out Julius Thomas or anything. In fact, quite the opposite. But he also didn’t put him on any sort of level with Jimmy Graham, who is still seeing dollar signs in his sleep after signing the richest deal for a tight end in NFL history. That much was clear.
"“Even though Julius had a tremendous year for us, he’s only (played) 23 games. We want Julius to be a Bronco for a long time and we think he has tremendous upside, but he’s not at that level,” Elway said."
What we can decipher from this statement:
1. Julius Thomas is good, but nowhere near the level of Jimmy Graham — yet.
2. The Broncos are not going to pay Thomas as much as Graham.
John Elway is laying down the gauntlet. He’s set a mid-August deadline for Demaryius Thomas to sign what will likely be one of the top five biggest contracts for a wide receiver in the NFL. He’s also said that Julius Thomas is a big part of the team’s future plans, but he had better not get ahead of himself and think he’s getting Jimmy Graham money.
Elway typically gets what he wants. I think, and this is with some confidence, that the Broncos will get an extension done with Demaryius before the season but I also think they’ll wait it out with Julius.
Let us know your thoughts!