What will the Denver Broncos do with Demaryius Thomas ?

What will the Denver Broncos do with Demaryius Thomas? That has been the obvious question since before the 2014 NFL season started.

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Thomas was playing out the rest of his rookie contract last year and far exceeded his pay.

The All-Pro wide receiver finished 2014 with 111 receptions for 1,619 yards and 11 touchdowns. That is multi-million dollar production for the $836,500 US Dollars that Thomas made in 2014.

Needless to say, Thomas is looking for a raise, and though the structure for a 5-year deal has been on the negotiating table for quite sometime, the amount of time is nothing without the amount of money.

In an ESPN.com post by Jeff Legwold, John Elway made it clear that retaining the services of Demaryius Thomas is a priority, but as it always is in business, the market is going to dictate Thomas’s value:

“Our goal is to get something done with Demaryius … that market is changing, that wide receiver market is changing, too, but the bottom line is we want Demaryius to be a Bronco.”

-John Elway

The way things are starting to shape up right now, the Broncos may have to use the franchise tag on Demaryius Thomas if they are serious about keeping him at least for next season and still haven’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal.

Demaryius Thomas and the Broncos face the Seahawks next week in a Super Bowl rematch. (Photo: Chris Humphreys, USA TODAY Sports

A franchise-tag deal would net Thomas $12.9 million for 2015 in the meantime until the Broncos and Thomas could forge a deal. Denver has until March 6th to place the franchise tag on Thomas.

It is not like other teams are not going to try to entice Thomas from the Broncos. It was reported by Matt Miller in a Bleacher Report post that the New York Jets will make a run at Demaryius, “if Denver does not put a franchise tag on him”.

The Jets definitely are not going to be the only team bringing briefcases full of cash for Thomas to gaze upon, but this lets you know that the sharks will be circling if Denver does not franchise tag their man.

The Demaryius Thomas saga is not the only one that is going to be playing out for Denver this offseason. John Elway is also going to have to work out what he is going to do with tight end Julius Thomas.

Julius Thomas will also be looking for more loot this offseason which adds to the drama of can Denver figure out how to keep both of the Thomas’ together.

ProFootballTalk discussed this very topic in a video via nbcsports.com:

Julius Thomas finished 2014 with 43 catches for 439 yards and 12 touchdowns and showed great chemistry with QB Peyton Manning.

The Broncos are trying to put everything together so they can make a run at the Lombardi Trophy with Manning at the helm for what will be his 19th and possibly final season in the NFL.

Gary Kubiak was hired as the new head coach in Denver after the Broncos parted ways with John Fox who went to Chicago during the coaching change carousel.

Elway is going to want to make sure he has plenty of ingredients for Kubiak to cook with along with Peyton Manning for this championship run.