2015 Broncos Season — A Looming Deadline


“I keep up with Demaryius. He’s my buddy. They got that business side of it to work out, but he’s been a great teammate to me, been a great friend to me since I’ve been here in Denver, so I keep up with him. Obviously want him to get back here as soon as possible, but we want what’s best for him, and he certainly deserves what’s best for him.” — Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos' quarterback

July 15. It's only nine days away. It's Wednesday. It's a couple weeks before training camp. And it's a day of reckoning for the Denver Broncos.

Any player who is operating under a Franchise Tag has to sign a long-term contract by July 15, or play the season under the Tag amount. For the Broncos this year, Demaryius Thomas is the Franchise Tag player. The tag is worth $12.8 million — a hefty sum for the year. But it's not what Thomas wants. He wants a long-term deal. He wants security. He wants a contract that recognizes that he's one of the best wide receivers in the game, and a key cog for the Broncos.

And John Elway has nine more days to get that done. This, indeed, is a huge moment for the franchise. They let Julius Thomas walk. Wes Welker is gone. There are plenty of people that have headed out the door. If Thomas doesn't get a long-term deal, he could be entering his final 16 regular season games with the Broncos.

That doesn't make sense to me. But the contract negotiations seem to be an an impasse. Signing Thomas to a long-term deal was priority No. 1 of the off-season, and now the off-season is nearly over and there's no deal.

Thomas is an incredible talent — one of the best receivers in the league — and he's entering his prime. The rationale given for letting Eric Decker and Julius Thomas go was so Demaryius would stay long term. If that doesn't happen, what has this all been for?

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