It looks like the Denver Broncos can expect the standoff between them and Demaryius Thomas to start getting a little more serious.
Broncos aren't expecting Demaryius Thomas at minicamp. And this 1 is a blip on the radar. Hasn't signed his tender, so they can't fine him.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 9, 2015
Originally reported by 9News Broncos beat reporter Mike Klis, the Demaryius Thomas news comes as pretty much no surprise, but the more he stays away from team facilities, the more annoyed everyone is getting.
We all understand the contract situation Thomas is in. He was given the franchise tag, and has yet to sign his tender, so he has no reason to show up and risk tearing his ACL (Ryan Clady’s situation amplified this potential risk) and do so without long-term financial stability.
We also all understand that Thomas deserves a brand new contract, because he’s certainly out-played his rookie deal. The problem we’re running into here is the fact that the Broncos are being smart, and not offering to break the bank for Thomas, but are probably making him contract offers within reason of what they would ‘like’ to pay a top tier wide receiver for.
Everyone knows Emmanuel Sanders is a bargain, but he’s getting annually what Demaryius Thomas expects to get as a third of his annual salary, basically. How can the Broncos justify that?
Well, obviously Thomas has performed at that level longer and more consistently, so he has that argument in his favor, but investing $14-16 million in one player that isn’t a quarterback is a huge risk, especially depending on how much guaranteed money you give that player.
The Broncos are going to have a lot of cap space next offseason, so they can probably afford to binge a bit on Demaryius Thomas, but do they want to?
We’ve seen teams with young receivers win the Super Bowl the last couple of years, none of those teams paying anyone what the Broncos are being asked to pay Thomas.
John Elway knows that, and he’s playing hard ball.
This will likely come down to how much Demaryius Thomas wants to be a Bronco for the rest of his prime, and with Peyton Manning getting set to possibly depart after this season, it would shock no one if Thomas is going to milk this situation for all he and his agent can, play out this season for the Broncos and not get injured, and reach free agency next year where some team will pay him even more than he’s asking right now.
It’s the ugly side of the NFL, and the Broncos are getting a front row seat.