Report: Broncos to use franchise tag on Demaryius Thomas
According to reports, the Denver Broncos will be keeping one of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets
With the Denver Broncos up against the cap, they are expected to lose many key free agents once free agency begins. One guy they won’t be losing however is wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
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According to The Denver Post, the Broncos will be using the franchise tag on Thomas. The team will be using the “nonexclusive” tag on Thomas, which means other teams can negotiate for the wide receiver’s services but Denver has the right to match.
If Denver chooses not match, they will then receive two-first round picks from the team that signs Thomas.
With the steep price of two-first round picks, it’s unlikely any team would make a play for Thomas almost guaranteeing his return to Denver.
Of course re-signing Thomas comes at a price. With Denver up against the cap on tight on money with Peyton Manning’s giant contract, the team will probably lose free agents such as Julius Thomas, Terrance Knighton and Orlando Franklin to other teams.
Another question that remains to be seen is if Thomas will sign his franchise tag designation right away.
"Neither Thomas, 27, nor his agent, Todd France, could be reached for comment Sunday, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the three-time Pro Bowler protested by not signing his franchise tag designation until the July 15 deadline. That would allow Thomas to skip without penalty the Broncos’ offseason program that will run from mid-April until mid-June."
Thomas could easily command a larger contract on the open market with lots of teams having large amounts of cap space.
Getting Thomas back would be big for the Broncos. With team hoping to make another Super Bowl run before Peyton Manning retires, they’re going to need give Manning as many weapons as possible considering the team could lose several key free agents during free agency.
Manning to Thomas has become a fixture in Denver, and it looks like it will be again for at least one more season.
[H/T: The Denver Post]
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