Broncos TE Julius Thomas proving he’ll be worth massive new contract

[Denver Native (Carol)]

DENVER — The regular season kicked off Sunday night without a new contract for Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas, and all he did was keep making his case for a monster deal.

Whatever it is that Thomas and his agent might be asking for now, or what they could potentially ask for next spring should it get that far, Thomas appears to be worth it.

“I’m not worried about it. You can’t worry about it. There is way too much going on out on the field to worry about contracts. I’m in no different position than Rahim Moore, Virgil Green, Quinton Carter. We’re all in a contract year,” Thomas told USA TODAY Sports, while rattling off other members of his 2011 draft class. “Mine may have been mentioned, but I’m playing the same way all of those guys are playing. We’re playing for our careers, we’re playing for our futures. I’m going to continue to show that I want to be one of the dominant players in this league.”

rest - http://q.usatoday.com/2014/09/08/broncos-te-julius-thomas-proving-hell-be-worth-massive-new-contract/

[DenBronx]

Pay tha man!

[Joel]

You're in a SLIGHTLY different position than them, Julius: They're not Pro Bowlers. Your position's more like Demaryius' or Chris Harris' (except the latter SOMEHOW hasn't made a Pro Bowl—yet....)

I don't know how we'll pay all these guys (especially if Welker comes back and we still want him.) I'm just hoping we can win a SB with them before we have to worry about it.

[TXBRONC]

You're in a SLIGHTLY different position than them, Julius: They're not Pro Bowlers. Your position's more like Demaryius' or Chris Harris' (except the latter SOMEHOW hasn't made a Pro Bowl—yet....)

I don't know how we'll pay all these guys (especially if Welker comes back and we still want him.) I'm just hoping we can win a SB with them before we have to worry about it.

Welker signed a two year contract and from very beginning it's always been widely speculated that he wouldn't be here beyond that.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I would have really liked to see him not fall into the fetal position on that onside kick. Maybe I'm being too critical, but my initial reaction was he looked pretty soft.

Don't get me wrong, I love having him on the field, but I still see him as a basketball player who plays football too. I would really like to see more physicality out of him, and not just when he's running at a DB who he outweighs by 50-60 pounds.

[Northman]

He will get paid whether its here or somewhere else.

[Joel]

Welker signed a two year contract and from very beginning it's always been widely speculated that he wouldn't be here beyond that.
Speculation's just that, and all I'm doing. My bet is Caldwell's our slot guy next year and Welker's gone, though that only solves the problem for a year.

Regardless, that would still leave 7 starters who either get paid or lost before this time next year. Orange Julius isn't the only Thomas who'll be pricey:

Demaryius is a Pro Bowler, #1 WR on historys best passing attack, and the best argument for releasing Decker (i.e. we couldn't pay both:) He WILL get paid, and well.
Chris Harris is the NFLs best nickelback; SOMEONE will pay him big.
Terrance Knighton is getting $1.5 mil in his final contract year; he'll probably get THRICE that in 2015—but maybe not from us.
Franklin could probably parlay 3 years starting on an elite offense into a big payday; Beadles did that to the tune of $6million/yr—and he's not even an OT.

That's just the big money starters, most playing on rookie contracts, all for a fraction of what they'll command in 2015. If Irving's finally proving himself a legit starting Mike, he picked a great time, because he's heading into a contract year, and the same goes for Moore at FS. There are several non-starting role players (e.g. Unrein) in the same boat: Right now, NONE of our TEs are under contract in 2015.

We can talk of "win from now on" mode all we like, but the cap reality is, as I'm so often told, we can't keep 53 Pro Bowlers forever: We must make choices; if it's not Orange Julius, it'll be someone else.

[BroncoJoe]

Will he give us a discount for the two years he collected a paycheck while sitting in the training room?

[Joel]

Will he give us a discount for the two years he collected a paycheck while sitting in the training room?
No kidding, but no way. That "what have you done for me lately?" thing cuts both ways. After all, his career could end in the training room tomorrow (heaven forbid.) Anyway, read it and weep, folks:
http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/contracts/nfl/den/

[BroncoJoe]

No kidding, but no way. That "what have you done for me lately?" thing cuts both ways. After all, his career could end in the training room tomorrow (heaven forbid.) Anyway, read it and weep, folks:
http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/nfl/den/denver-broncos

What exactly are we supposed to weep about in that link?

[MOtorboat]

What exactly are we supposed to weep about in that link?

The fifth string wide receiver didn't play. Boo-yah!

[Dapper Dan]

I kinda wish he hadn't fumbled the ball on that run or on the onside kick.

[Joel]

What exactly are we supposed to weep about in that link?
Sorry, thought didn't realize I'd copied the main team page rather than the contract page; here ya go: http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/contracts/nfl/den/

[Simple Jaded]

Unless Caldwell plays a hell of a lot better than he did Sunday or there's an injury Sanders is 2015's slot receiver and Cody Latimer is on the outside with DT, that's my guess. I'd be surprised if Caldwell was ever Plan A. Things can change but I'm fairly sure they drafted Latimer to be a starter.

Btw, I still don't understand what we're supposed to be weeping about.

[Joel]

Unless Caldwell plays a hell of a lot better than he did Sunday or there's an injury Sanders is 2015's slot receiver and Cody Latimer is on the outside with DT, that's my guess. I'd be surprised if Caldwell was ever Plan A. Things can change but I'm fairly sure they drafted Latimer to be a starter.
Well, did Latimer play better than Caldwell Sunday? He's a rookie, so maybe he develops a lot by this time next year, but right now there's a reason Sanders and Caldwell are on the field while he's not, and Sanders' breakaway deep threat would be wasted as a possession slot receiver going over the middle. We signed him to replace Decker as #2, not Welker in the slot, remember?


Btw, I still don't understand what we're supposed to be weeping about.
A full THIRD of our starters are in their last contract year and can command FAR more money next year; you honestly don't see cause for grave concern there? It's easy to say, "pay the man," but far harder to say, "pay the MEN," and we've got a lot of men who'll be well-paid next year—but several won't be getting it from us. When does "win now" and "win from now on" become "win while you still can"?

[Simple Jaded]

The Broncos have that many players in the last year of their contract by design, cap flexibility they'll need to sign/keep players according to their actual ability and not signability. The Broncos are going to lose some talented players, all talented teams do, I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me but I fully intend to continue to enjoy this team while it lasts.

As opposed to continuing to be butthurt over players that are already long gone.

As for WR, you clearly enjoy being wrong (or you just suck at predicting the future), have at it. Btw, Victor Cruz made a fortune as a deep threat from the slot, Sanders just might add an element to the slot that the Broncos don't currently have, but whatever, that's probably just too optimistic to register.

[Simple Jaded]

The Broncos have that many players in the last year of their contract by design, cap flexibility they'll need to sign/keep players according to their actual ability and not signability. The Broncos are going to lose some talented players, all talented teams do, I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me but I fully intend to continue to enjoy this team while it lasts.

As opposed to continuing to be butthurt over players that are already long gone.

As for WR, you clearly enjoy being wrong (or you just suck at predicting the future), have at it. Btw, Victor Cruz made a fortune as a deep threat from the slot, Sanders just might add an element to the slot that the Broncos don't currently have, but whatever, that's probably just too optimistic to register.

That long pass Sanders caught (that shoulda been a TD with a better throw) came from the slot, lmfao.

[Joel]

The Broncos have that many players in the last year of their contract by design, cap flexibility they'll need to sign/keep players according to their actual ability and not signability.
EIGHT STARTERS HAVE NO 2015 CONTRACT: That's by DESIGN?! Because we doubt their ability after multiple seasons starting for 13-3 teams? I could (somewhat) see that argument with the additional roleplayers like Unrein who are also in their last contract year, but, c'mon: We don't know whether the Thomases are worth re-signing, or Knighton? Chris Harris? What exactly are they going to show to "earn it" that they haven't done the last three years straight? There's no question we want to keep those guys: The question is how many we CAN keep, and the most likely answer is "not all of them."

Yes, Sanders can go deep from the slot—but slot receivers tend to be possession receivers going over the middle to pick up conversions on 3rd and long. Charging LBs while ignoring them to make catches isn't exactly a prescription for good health and longevity: Just ask Welker. Maybe Sanders can do that every week 16 games/year, but I doubt he'd do it long, let alone sprint the field for a TD the next play.

[Simple Jaded]

Yes, it's by design, I can only think of a few FA's the Broncos have signed to more than 2-3 year contracts, Manning (although his was a 2-3 tier team friendly contract), Ware, Ward and Vasquez. The Broncos have policies in place where they don't negotiate with players who have more than one season remaining, they always have, they also don't negotiate during regular season either, this is by design. And how many of those "EIGHT STARTERS HAVE NO 2015 CONTRACT" are players in their rookie contract? That's by design, brutha, the same design used by 31 other teams in the NFL.

[Joel]

Yes, it's by design, I can only think of a few FA's the Broncos have signed to more than 2-3 year contracts, Manning (although his was a 2-3 tier team friendly contract), Ware, Ward and Vasquez. The Broncos have policies in place where they don't negotiate with players who have more than one season remaining, they always have, they also don't negotiate during regular season either, this is by design. And how many of those "EIGHT STARTERS HAVE NO 2015 CONTRACT" are players in their rookie contract? That's by design, brutha, the same design used by 31 other teams in the NFL.
Sure, lots of those starters are finishing rookie contracts: THAT'S THE PROBLEM. That flexibilty cuts both ways; it means we can bail on rookies who turn out to be scrubs, but also means the ones who turn out to be studs can demand and GET big money on their next contract, either from us or someone else. It practically obligates them to do so, because they didn't get paid much as rookies and by the time their NEXT contract ends they'll be too old for anyone to throw $50 million at a guy who's got maybe 2-3 good years left. And they'll still retire with all the health issues of a decade starting in the NFL.

Speaking of design, how many of those guys are only Broncos because injuries dropped their draft value and diminished or aborted their first year (in some cases, first TWO)? When we ask Orange Julius for a discount because we paid him to sit in the training room his first two seasons, maybe we should ask the same of DT and Irving, let Quanterus Smith know he'll be in the same boat, and throw in Quinton Carter, since post-draft injury cost us his first season. Was only having rookies a year or two before they can demand $5 million/year design, too?

Flexbility or not, the bottom line remains just that, and in our case that means fully a THIRD of our starters will get new contracts from SOMEONE next year; at least a few won't get them from us. Again, even if we let Orange Julius go we STILL don't have ANY TEs under contract next year. Maybe Irving's finally the answer at Mike—but are you $3-4 million sure of that? If it means losing Knighton?

[TXBRONC]

Speculation's just that, and all I'm doing. My bet is Caldwell's our slot guy next year and Welker's gone, though that only solves the problem for a year.

Regardless, that would still leave 7 starters who either get paid or lost before this time next year. Orange Julius isn't the only Thomas who'll be pricey:

Demaryius is a Pro Bowler, #1 WR on historys best passing attack, and the best argument for releasing Decker (i.e. we couldn't pay both:) He WILL get paid, and well.
Chris Harris is the NFLs best nickelback; SOMEONE will pay him big.
Terrance Knighton is getting $1.5 mil in his final contract year; he'll probably get THRICE that in 2015—but maybe not from us.
Franklin could probably parlay 3 years starting on an elite offense into a big payday; Beadles did that to the tune of $6million/yr—and he's not even an OT.

That's just the big money starters, most playing on rookie contracts, all for a fraction of what they'll command in 2015. If Irving's finally proving himself a legit starting Mike, he picked a great time, because he's heading into a contract year, and the same goes for Moore at FS. There are several non-starting role players (e.g. Unrein) in the same boat: Right now, NONE of our TEs are under contract in 2015.

We can talk of "win from now on" mode all we like, but the cap reality is, as I'm so often told, we can't keep 53 Pro Bowlers forever: We must make choices; if it's not Orange Julius, it'll be someone else.

Before you speculate watch how Elway handles veteran signings like that of Welker.

Joel you don't seem to pay very close attention to what is going on when it comes to the Broncos and especially how Elway has managed this team.

[Joel]

Before you speculate watch how Elway handles veteran signings like that of Welker.
I imagine Jaded's right that the way Elway will handle signing Welker is he WON'T; the only thing hard to understand about that is why he high-fived a post contradicting him (except it's not hard at all.)


Joel you don't seem to pay very close attention to what is going on when it comes to the Broncos and especially how Elway has managed this team.
I pay attention; I didn't just now find out Harris, both Thomases and Knighton are in the last year of their contracts. Remember how much we had laughing at Brady trying to win games after his D was gutted and all his weapons were gone? I'd hate to see Caldwell as the next Amendola. If we're doing things the Patriot Way, why'd we fire our old coach and his camera man?