Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is unquestionably one of the top five players at his position. He has 88 catches so far this season for 1,255 yards and ten touchdowns; numbers that rank second, second and third, respectively, among pass catchers. Thomas is also scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, meaning that he is in line for a big contract. With productive tight end Julius Thomas also set to hit the open market after the season, the question remains: can the Broncos re-sign their top receiving threat?
Perhaps, a more important question is: will Thomas make it any easier for Denver?
"Of course, why not?" Thomas said of giving the Broncos a hometown discount in free agency. "Peyton Manning is one of the best in the game, and I've been blessed to have him as my quarterback. I learned so much from him. Denver, of course I gotta take my hats off to them, because they took a chance of drafting me in the first round."
With 145 more yards, Thomas will join Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison as the only receivers to record at least 1,450 yards and double digit touchdowns in a season.
It's common for players of Thomas' stature to make such claims before they start seeing those big money offers in free agency. Even if Thomas sticks by his words, it's unclear how much money he'd be willing to sacrifice.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk projects the 2015 salary cap at roughly $145 million. As a true No. 1 wide receiver, Thomas could likely command between $10 and $12 million on the open market. With Julius, Von Miller, Terrance Knighton, Chris Harris and other players set to become free agents as well, can Denver open up the requisite cap space, even if Thomas takes a slight discount?
MileHighReport.com projects the Broncos to have between $41 and $47 million in salary cap room depending on a handful of factors. How they divvy up that money will be crucial in determining who stays and who goes.
