The Denver Broncos already have a major hole to fill at quarterback this offseason, but offseason rumors have issues at wide receiver, too.
John Elway faces a significant to-do list this offseason as the primary architect of the Denver Broncos. From holes along the lines to aging stars to a black hole at quarterback, the Broncos are a shell of the Super Bowl winners they were just three seasons ago. Any hopes to get back there will depend on how well Elway can navigate this offseason.
Yet the latest rumors out of Mile High point to a new hole that could form soon among the team’s most consistent units: wide receiver. The Broncos have long been stable at wide receiver thanks to the savvy choice of Demaryius Thomas in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and the signing of Emmanuel Sanders in free agency in 2014. Together they have formed one of the NFL’s top wideout combos for the last four seasons.
This year, however, all of that could change. Rumors are swirling that the Broncos could actually say goodbye to both targets, a big surprise considering just how entrenched both have been, especially Thomas. Yet Will Brinson of CBS Sports believes that both are in play as potential cap casualties, like it or not in Denver.
Thomas came up 51 yards short of his sixth straight 1,000 yard season as a receiver, and it’s a number he should have eclipsed and then some had he enjoyed even mediocre production at quarterback. Instead the Broncos rolled out an unready Paxton Lynch and the conservative Trevor Siemian and fell to the basement of the AFC West in the process.
More from Arrowhead Addict
- Former Chiefs cornerback in legal trouble in Las Vegas
- Chiefs Kingdom: Get ready to break contract news
- Chiefs news: Travis Kelce wants to host fan ‘chug-off’ in Germany
- Podcast: Breaking down the Chiefs biggest roster battles
- KC Chiefs send Dave Merritt to NFL coaching accelerator
As they say in NFL, a player’s availability is their best ability which doesn’t fare well for Sanders these days. As he turns 31, Sanders missed four games last year with an ankle injury and comes with a cap hit of over $10 million. He’s already rumored to be on the trade block and is a likely candidate to be released when all is said and done.
Thomas is the more surprising of the two, but Elway faces a particularly tough decision regarding Thomas in that he’s due a roster bonus of $1 million by the new league year in a few weeks. If that triggers, it also guarantees the final two seasons of his deal to the tune of a total $29.5 million cap hit over the next two seasons combined ($12 and $17.5). As good as Thomas has been (and don’t let the stats fool you, since he’s still one of the NFL’s steadiest receivers), that last hit of nearly $18 million is a lot for a 32-year-old-to-be.
The most likely situation of all of this is that the Broncos lose one of two and find a way to retain the other on more palatable terms. Shifting this into a bonus or that into a restructured deal is always an option, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Elway find a way for Thomas to retire as a Bronco. But just the fact that both players could conceivably suit up elsewhere next year makes this an interesting offseason to watch the Broncos as they hope to patch up more holes than maybe anyone thought possible.