Broncos working on new deals with Demaryius & Julius Thomas
Photo credit: John Cordes |
The Broncos have offered new contracts to two of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets – wide out Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas, and plan to negotiate with the two after training camp opens a week from today.
Both players are entering the final year of their rookie deals and are absolutely due for big time raises.
Under the direction of Manning, both Thomases had excellent years in 2013-14, with Julius having the best season of his brief career. He totaled 65 catches and 12 touchdowns in only nine games.
Demaryius, who is arguably one of the league’s top receivers, enjoyed his second-straight 1,400-yard season in which he caught 14 regular season touchdown passes and three in the post-season.
Lindsay Jones of USA Today reports that Julius’s camp has not responded to the offer that was made by Broncos boss and legend, John Elway, as they wanted to see how the situation in New Orleans with Saints tight end Jimmy Graham played out.
Putting a Patriots twist on this, it’s not surprising that this is happening, but it’s also scary to think about. Both players were crucial to Denver’s otherworldly, record-breaking offense (that stings), and will continue to be threats. That is especially true as long as Manning is leading the charge.
While Julius did not play in the Week 12 matchup in Foxboro, Demaryius didn’t enjoy too much success, only catching four passes for 41 yards and a touchdown to tie the game at 31-all late in the 4th quarter.
The AFC Championship game…yeah…totally different ballgame.
Demaryius caught seven balls for 134 yards and a touchdown and averaged 19.1 yards per catch. Zoinks. Julius also enjoyed a pretty good day against the Patriots defense, catching eight passes for 85 yards while averaging 10.6 yards per catch.
While it’s entirely too early to start making guarantees and make false claims, with the way the Patriots secondary is shaping up, it’s possible both Thomases stat lines could look somewhat similar to Week 12 of 2013 when the teams meet in Week 9 at Gillette Stadium this season.
One way or another, these guys will be ready, and it’ll be must-see TV.
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