With Kirk Cousins on the table, Thomas and Sanders are safe

With a Kirk Cousins signing still on the table, the Denver Broncos’ WR duo of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are safe…

If the Denver Broncos are going to make a pitch to Kirk Cousins, it doesn’t make much sense if that pitch doesn’t include one of (or both of) Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.

We just wrote about that the other day…

Now, it seems local and national reporters are connecting the same dots, and perhaps even hearing the same thing from the Broncos’ side of things.

The Broncos do have a financial situation to figure out with Demaryius Thomas, whose contract has a $4 million option this offseason that will trigger his next two years’ worth of salaries, but there are rumors that he could be asked to re-structure that and move some money around.

If it helps get Kirk Cousins, he may be willing to do that.

It’s also possible that the Broncos could re-evaluate Thomas’ contract situation next offseason.

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According to Spotrac, they have another ‘out’ in his deal that would leave them with just $2.2 million in dead money as opposed to the $4 million in 2018.

Regardless, it seems that perhaps one clear indicator of the Broncos’ standing in the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes could be the decision they make on Thomas. They need to decide on his contract option by the start of the new league year, which is when free agency opens.

If they pick up the option, it could mean they like their chances of getting Cousins. If they decline to pick up the option, they could perhaps see signing Cousins as a longshot.

Who knows?

One thing is certain — the Broncos would like to keep Sanders and Thomas if they are able to land Cousins, but they need to figure things out financially. Thomas’ cap number is over $17 million next season, and that’s not feasible given the move they are trying to make by adding Cousins.