Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas is entering the final year of his contract, otherwise known as a contract year. The Broncos and general manager John Elway made it clear that they want to keep Thomas around, but said nothing would get done before the start of training camp but that it could get done in camp.
“Nothing is going to get done before camp, but we’ll keep talking to them in camp,” Elway told USA TODAY Sports. “I’m never going to go into the season, but the first couple of weeks, we can continue to talk about it. After the second week of the preseason, we’ll want to have had something done, one way or another.”
The feelings are mutual and Thomas has come out and said that he wants to stay in Denver.
“Absolutely. I love Denver. It’s a great city. I really love that franchise, fan base, I would look forward to being there for a long time,” Thomas told Larry Brown Sports when asked if he wanted to stay in Denver long-term. “But it’s business. We’ll see what happens.”
Thomas had a breakout season last year catching 65 passes for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns, but Elway doesn’t value him as highly as New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham yet.