The Dallas Cowboys and Dez Bryant were able to agree to a new deal, and soon after that news broke the Denver Broncos and Demaryius Thomas were able to come to an agreement as well. Neither receiver was really expected to get a deal done with their respective teams, but obviously those expectations were wrong. According to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, Denver agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract with Thomas.
Denver and Demaryius Thomas reach agreement on matching 5-year, $70 million deal that includes $43.5M GTD, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2015
Denver is heading into a new era of football with a brand new coaching staff after they moved on from both John Fox and Adam Gase. They will have a new look offense with Gary Kubiak taking things over, but Peyton Manning still decided to return for at least one more season. That in and of itself will keep the Broncos towards the top of the NFL’s offensive power rankings, and bringing back Thomas will solidify that standing.
During the 2014 season with the Broncos, Thomas got off to a slow start but finished with yet another dominant season. He caught 111 passes for 1,619 yards and 11 touchdowns. Those are the superstar numbers that Thomas is able to put up year after year, and at 27 years old he still has plenty of time to continue his big numbers.
At 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds, there are not many receivers that can combine the size and speed that he possesses.
No defensive back is able to match with him completely, and it has allowed Denver to have a mismatch each and every play that he is on the field. Manning has also become very comfortable with Thomas, and their success has been hinged upon each other over the past few seasons. Thomas is an elite receiver, and still has a few improvements that he can make to take his game to another level.
That being said, the Broncos didn’t want to play with fire during his contract situation. Allowing him to hit free agency would have ended up with him finding a new team, and that simply isn’t something that John Elway was able to allow.
Looking ahead at the next five seasons, Thomas is going to be one of the cornerstones for the proud franchise. Things are going to change in a big way when Manning decides to retire, although he may have another year after the 2015 season. Whether or not he retires in the near future or not, the quarterback that takes over for him is going to have a legitimate number one target and one of the biggest playmakers in the NFL.
Both sides got an excellent deal just like the Cowboys did with Bryant, and they are both going to be very happy that they got this done. Expect to see him continue dominating over the next five seasons, and to see him use this contract as motivation to improve his game even more.
Demaryius Thomas Contract Grade: A
