Don't Doubt the Thomas Trade
It's not easy to say farewell to one of the best players to ever don the orange and blue, but trading Demaryius Thomas is a move the Broncos had to make.
After Denver picked up two quality wide receivers in the most recent NFL Draft, there was talk of trading DT or Emmanuel Sanders back during training camp. After watching the team in Dove Valley myself, I understood why those early trade rumors continued to persist. Almost all of the young wide outs were doing some amazing things, including free agent Patrick Smith.
The depth was solid enough that Jordan "Sunshine" Taylor, a solid contributor from last season, was on the outside looking in and his unfortunate injury bought him some additional time on the roster to start this year.
In a perfect world, Thomas would be allowed to stay here in Denver until he was ready to retire. The business of the sport doesn't allow much room for such happy fairy tale endings, even for former first round draft picks.
Picked during the brief but horrific Josh McDaniels era, Thomas was a shining light and maybe the most talented player snagged by the same coach who selected Tim Tebow in the first round the year before.
DT could have easily owned every receiving record in the Broncos' book with another year on the team. Instead he finishes second only to Rod Smith in catches, with 60 TD's , 655 catches and 9055 total yards.
And yes, despite all the great numbers and wonderful memories, two Super Bowls and a world championship ring among those moments -- it is time to say goodbye.
I don't think Thomas' contract hit of over 17 million bucks next year is worth it for a team that is still rebuilding from the Manning Era. The free fall after the Super Bowl 50 win continues and it will likely end the Vance Joseph experiment before the completion of this season.
I've seen the other complaints online as well. Only a fourth round pick for the perennial all-star?
That's actually really good return for a team to take on his contract, a player who is 'old' for a wide receiver and this late in a season. Elway had to sweeten the deal a bit with a seventh round selection, but the team had a couple of those laying around.
The Cowboys sent a first round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper, but he much younger, has more potential and is still on his first NFL contract. All that and the Cowboys are a little weird.
Denver wasn't ever going to get a first round pick for DT at this point. A fourth pick is solid. The cap room is even better.
It will be sad and very bizarre to see Thomas line up against Chris Harris this Sunday in a Texans uniform. I contend DT is easily one of the top 15 players to ever put on an orange jersey for the Broncos. Now he will give Denver a chance to sign a younger free agent and middle round draft pick as the rebuild continues.
Strangely, in his departure, DT gets to help his team here in Denver one more time.
After Denver picked up two quality wide receivers in the most recent NFL Draft, there was talk of trading DT or Emmanuel Sanders back during training camp. After watching the team in Dove Valley myself, I understood why those early trade rumors continued to persist. Almost all of the young wide outs were doing some amazing things, including free agent Patrick Smith.
The depth was solid enough that Jordan "Sunshine" Taylor, a solid contributor from last season, was on the outside looking in and his unfortunate injury bought him some additional time on the roster to start this year.
In a perfect world, Thomas would be allowed to stay here in Denver until he was ready to retire. The business of the sport doesn't allow much room for such happy fairy tale endings, even for former first round draft picks.
Picked during the brief but horrific Josh McDaniels era, Thomas was a shining light and maybe the most talented player snagged by the same coach who selected Tim Tebow in the first round the year before.
DT could have easily owned every receiving record in the Broncos' book with another year on the team. Instead he finishes second only to Rod Smith in catches, with 60 TD's , 655 catches and 9055 total yards.
And yes, despite all the great numbers and wonderful memories, two Super Bowls and a world championship ring among those moments -- it is time to say goodbye.
I don't think Thomas' contract hit of over 17 million bucks next year is worth it for a team that is still rebuilding from the Manning Era. The free fall after the Super Bowl 50 win continues and it will likely end the Vance Joseph experiment before the completion of this season.
I've seen the other complaints online as well. Only a fourth round pick for the perennial all-star?
That's actually really good return for a team to take on his contract, a player who is 'old' for a wide receiver and this late in a season. Elway had to sweeten the deal a bit with a seventh round selection, but the team had a couple of those laying around.
The Cowboys sent a first round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper, but he much younger, has more potential and is still on his first NFL contract. All that and the Cowboys are a little weird.
Denver wasn't ever going to get a first round pick for DT at this point. A fourth pick is solid. The cap room is even better.
It will be sad and very bizarre to see Thomas line up against Chris Harris this Sunday in a Texans uniform. I contend DT is easily one of the top 15 players to ever put on an orange jersey for the Broncos. Now he will give Denver a chance to sign a younger free agent and middle round draft pick as the rebuild continues.
Strangely, in his departure, DT gets to help his team here in Denver one more time.
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