Broncos General Manager John Elway said that talks with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas heated up on Wednesday morning and resulted in a “very fair deal” for both sides when they reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million contract that comes with $35 million fully guaranteed upon signing for Thomas.
Getting Thomas’s deal done now means that the Broncos won’t have to worry about using the franchise tag on him again after the 2016 season, leaving it free for linebacker Von Miller if need be. Elway said that the team kept Miller’s impending free agency and the upcoming expiration of other contracts for key players in mind while making their deal with Thomas.
“We’re well aware of what we have coming up ,” Elway said, via the team’s website. “We have a lot of good football players coming up. Demaryius is a big part of that, and that’s why he’s the first part of trying to keep this football team together. DT was the first step, and we’ll have a plan for Von next year as well as other players. We’ve got a couple of other really good football players that are also coming into their last year, and we’ll try to hold onto as many as we can. Obviously it’s impossible to hold on to everyone in the salary-cap era, but we’re going to do our best to keep them all.”
Linebacker Danny Trevathan and defensive end Malik Jackson will also be out of contract after next season and their move toward free agency should join Miller to keep Elway plenty busy. As they keep the team together, though, Elway and the Broncos will also have to make a plan for parting ways with Peyton Manning, DeMarcus Ware and other veterans that won’t be part of the long-term foundation in Denver.