The Denver Broncos used their franchise tag on wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on Monday and he'll earn $12.8 million for the 2015 season. However, the Broncos are not done negotiating with Peyton Manning's top target.
Denver has a tight salary cap situation with $138.82 million committed to 2015 (including Thomas' salary). The official number for next season was set at $143.28 million on Monday, so they don't have too much room to work with. Nonetheless, the team is still looking to lock up their top receiver before the July 15 franchise tag extension deadline.
"This is another step in our efforts to extend Demaryius' contract and ensure he remains a Denver Bronco," Broncos general manager John Elway said in a statement via Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. "We will continue working toward a long-term agreement with Demaryius, who is a very important part of our team."
There is still pressure to sign Thomas, who should be getting a Calvin Johnson-like long-term deal (seven years, $113 million) when all is said and done. The Broncos placed the non-exclusive tag on Thomas, which means other teams have the right to negotiate with him, but must surrender two first round picks to Denver in the event it chooses not to match the outside offer. While they probably won't lose Thomas to another offer, it's still a possibility they lose him after the season.
"Multiple attempts to reach Thomas on Monday were unsuccessful," adds Renck. "Thomas sidestepped contract talk last year, choosing to focus on the season. He said after the Broncos' playoff exit that 'there was work to do' on his contract."
Denver is currently working to restructure Manning's $19 million base salary for 2015 in hopes of keeping Thomas for the long-term and also working out a deal with tight end Julius Thomas. But Demaryius is the first line of order since he has been one of the top receivers in the game over the last few years, including in 2014 when he hauled in 111 passes (2nd) for 1,619 yards (2nd) and 11 touchdowns (10th).
The two sides tabled contract talks back in October and Thomas played out the remainder of the season, which raises some more concern about a potential long-term deal this offseason. Not only that, Thomas can skip offseason workouts and practices, including mandatory minicamp, and that may affect his relationship with the team as well as his performance in 2015 if he chooses to do so.
While the Broncos appear safe in terms of having control over Thomas, there is still much work that needs to be done.
