![]() Like many players, Thomas is trying to maximize his guaranteed money. Now that the 2014 season is over, that philosophical distinction is moot. So another way to look at the deal was six years and $40.645 million, or $6.77 million a year. However, the Broncos also wanted to keep Thomas' 2014 salary at $645,000. It would have made him the league's third-highest-paid tight end, behind only Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. Talks broke off with the team's latest extension offer coming in at five years, $40 million, or $8 million a year. Per Klis, the Broncos tried to pay Thomas in line with the players in the next tier -at least from their perspective: Here's how Thomas stacks up to some of the most prolific touchdown-scoring tight ends in the game today: Thomas' role as a touchdown machine is valuable, but he's not a vertical field-stretcher or offensive cornerstone the way the very highest-paid tight ends are. At 17.1 percent, Broncos tight end Jacob Tamme gets thrown the ball almost exactly as often. That's not bad, but it doesn't come close to the target rates of Gronkowski (27.9) or Graham (23.1). PFF also charted Thomas with a target on 17.7 percent of passing routes run. Unlike many of the big-money tight ends like Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham, Thomas was rarely utilized as a slot receiver.Īccording to Pro Football Focus, just 15 percent f his snaps featured him standing up off the line. Of his six non-red-zone touchdowns, none of them were from very far outside the red zone. Thomas' longest catch on the year went for only 35 yards. In 2014, Thomas finished third on the team in receptions but fifth in average yards per reception behind fellow tight end Virgil Green. According to, Thomas led the entire NFL in red-zone targets with a whopping 40-again, in just 12 games-and hauled in 18 of them for six touchdowns.īut just how valuable is Thomas himself? What is he really doing for the Broncos? ![]() His size, feet and verticality make him lethal in the red zone. Once Thomas got on the field, he lit it up. It took two seasons for the fourth-rounder to develop the football craft to crack the Broncos' star-studded lineup, partially because he lost his entire rookie season to injury. Thomas, as has been mentioned so often it's practically a joke, is a gifted athlete who starred in basketball at Portland State. The Oakland Raiders, who also need to spend, spend, spend this spring, could also be raising their auction paddles come March 10.Įven if the Broncos had the cap space to match these teams' sure-to-be-huge offers, it doesn't seem like they would. Atlanta desperately missed the services of retired tight end Tony Gonzalez in 2014. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Other contenders in the bidding war could include the Atlanta Falcons, per D. The Jaguars don't just have room under the salary-cap ceiling, they need to burn cash to get up to the rolling cap floor, which amounts to 89 percent of available cap space throughout a four-year rolling window. Players of that sort simply don't hit the market, and plenty of teams looking to add a double-digit-touchdown machine to their arsenal are ready to spend.Ĭhief among them, writes Klis, will be the Jacksonville Jaguars. He's 26 and coming off back-to-back Pro Bowl nods. Other teams are lined up for the privilege of having Thomas on their payroll.
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