Julius Thomas turned down 8 mil before the season

[oldunclemark]

a local Denver talk show host..Brandon Spano

..is reporting that Julius Thomas was offered a multi-year deal at $8 mil per year at the start of the 2014

season and said 'no'

You never know what's true and what isn't..its a talk show guy

.but if that's true I would be surprised if the Broncos offered any more than that.

Julius missed a lot of time last season... and lets just say he was a slow healer

That means the Broncos will be looking for a TE in free agency or the draft

..and JT may be playing for the Raiders

[Nobody]

That's ridiculous. No way the Raiders will pay more than that, right?...

[Yoshinator]

That's ridiculous. No way the Raiders will pay more than that, right?...

Raiders would probably pay $10 million + easy. They overpay for everyone because they have too.

[bestQBever]

Julius Thomas and the raiders is basically a done deal now. Denver isn't gonna pay that much and Oakland absolutely needs to pay that much to get some talent on the team.

[The Fish]

He's a good player but he screwed up. His production is tied to Peyton. The majority of the market can't fairly assess his true value, given their QB play. 

[oldunclemark]

Julius Thomas and the raiders is basically a done deal now. Denver isn't gonna pay that much and Oakland absolutely needs to pay that much to get some talent on the team.

I'm reading where the Raiders have $50 mil in cap space..can that be?

....There is also talk that Terrance Knighton will be getting a call from the back and gold

[oldunclemark]

That's ridiculous. No way the Raiders will pay more than that, right?...

they shouldn't .... Thomas is a big threat

but Eric Decker's numbers sure went down when he left Denver

[loudnproudcolt]

Thomas has said he wants to be the highest paid at his position, so I believe he did turn it down, and he will go to FA, since the other Thomas is going to probably get tagged, since it is cheaper for the Broncos this year for what he wants and probably deserves. The Raiders are the team I believe he goes to because as said above, they have so much cap space, and they are going to have to overpay to get quality FA's there until their fortunes improve. I will say with Carr, who I like, and Mack, who I love as linchpins on both sides, adding Thomas would be a quality move, even if you overpay. You also have to remember the collective bargaining rule of using 89% of the cap over a 4 yr. average, so they need to spend some of the cap space. This would be a good start to their season, and they desperately need receivers. Can you name one on their team?

[Colts_Fan12]

I'm reading where the Raiders have $50 mil in cap space..can that be?

....There is also talk that Terrance Knighton will be getting a call from the back and gold

black and what?

[Valpo2004]

We need to extend Fleener and Allen pronto.  The TE market is trending up.  Honestly I would make this a priority because if we wait until after J Thomas is signed it could cost us a couple million more for each one.

 

Neither one is going to try and set the market but their contracts will be based on the market setting contract.  

 

Currently the market setting contract is Jimmy Graham's 10 million per year.  Right now I would say that puts Fleener at about 7 to 8 mil per year and Allen at 5 to 6 mil per year (Pay seems to be based more on abilities on a receiver then abilities as a blocker.)

 

If we wait for J Thomas to set the market those numbers could go up by 1 or 2 million for each.  

[Valpo2004]

He's a good player but he screwed up. His production is tied to Peyton. The majority of the market can't fairly assess his true value, given their QB play. 

 

Top 2 TE's in the league in terms of pay play with elite QB's.  Jimmy Graham and Gronk.  No one downgraded them because their production was tied to a QB (and a lack of elite WR's).  

 

I think if he wants 10 mil he'll get his 10 mil.  And it won't necessarily have to be from the Raiders.  

 

Honestly given his production 8 mil per year is on the low end.  While you can argue his production is tied to Peyton he can counter argue Jimmy Graham and Gronk got big contracts and point out that Jimmy Graham and Gronk are both the #1 options on their teams while he was option #3.

[jvan1973]

I'm reading where the Raiders have $50 mil in cap space..can that be?

....There is also talk that Terrance Knighton will be getting a call from the back and gold

pot roast is going to the steelers?

[bababooey]

they shouldn't .... Thomas is a big threat

but Eric Decker's numbers sure went down when he left Denver

Going from Peyton Manning to Geno Smith you would expect that.

[chad72]

Julius Thomas blocks like Dallas Clark (not a good thing), and runs routes like Dallas Clark but is a better red zone target than Dallas Clark. But that is just not being a rounded TE good enough to hit the double digit million mark per year.

 

If JT was on the field for more plays due to his blocking, a team could justify $10 mil. but I doubt if he will get the same $8 mil. from Denver again. Blocking TEs and slot wideouts can be found in the draft. If the Broncos let go of JT, it might serve them well cap wise and allowing them to focus on DT and putting together a rounded team by building other facets of their team like special teams and LBs where they need quality help, IMO.

[Valpo2004]

Julius Thomas blocks like Dallas Clark (not a good thing), and runs routes like Dallas Clark but is a better red zone target than Dallas Clark. But that is just not being a rounded TE good enough to hit the double digit million mark per year.

 

If JT was on the field for more plays due to his blocking, a team could justify $10 mil. but I doubt if he will get the same $8 mil. from Denver again. Blocking TEs and slot wideouts can be found in the draft. If the Broncos let go of JT, it might serve them well cap wise and allowing them to focus on DT and putting together a rounded team by building other facets of their team like special teams and LBs where they need quality help, IMO.

 

Blocking doesn't really drive the salary, it's receiving ability.  Jimmy Graham can't block. . . highest paid TE in the game right now based on average per year.  

[dgambill]

Denver would be smart to re-sign Green who is an excellent blocker and pretty athletic himself....and going a cheaper route like Daniels or Charles Clay then spending all that money on Thomas. They have other priorities to sign with the other Thomas and need help on the OL and LB imo.Thomas is dynamic but he seems to disappear when they need him.

[JerodMayo51]

Thomas has said he wants to be the highest paid at his position, so I believe he did turn it down, and he will go to FA, since the other Thomas is going to probably get tagged, since it is cheaper for the Broncos this year for what he wants and probably deserves. The Raiders are the team I believe he goes to because as said above, they have so much cap space, and they are going to have to overpay to get quality FA's there until their fortunes improve. I will say with Carr, who I like, and Mack, who I love as linchpins on both sides, adding Thomas would be a quality move, even if you overpay. You also have to remember the collective bargaining rule of using 89% of the cap over a 4 yr. average, so they need to spend some of the cap space. This would be a good start to their season, and they desperately need receivers. Can you name one on their team?

The egos on these guys are incredible. How can Thomas expect to be paid as the highest TE in the league? He had 1 great year, followed by an injury plagued, inconsistent year and was a ghost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

This guy thinks hes earning his check more than Gronk or Graham? Lol

And just another reason I'm glad the Pats extended Gronk so early in his rookie deal, they're going to be paying him pennies compared to the other top guys in the league at the position.

Hes under contract for like another 6 years.

[JerodMayo51]

Going from Peyton Manning to Geno Smith you would expect that.

Not just the QB, the Broncos were loaded on offense and had an elite QB.. the Jets have absolutely no one on offense and a scrub QB.

[Valpo2004]

The egos on these guys are incredible. How can Thomas expect to be paid as the highest TE in the league? He had 1 great year, followed by an injury plagued, inconsistent year and was a ghost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

This guy thinks hes earning his check more than Gronk or Graham? Lol

And just another reason I'm glad the Pats extended Gronk so early in his rookie deal, they're going to be paying him pennies compared to the other top guys in the league at the position.

Hes under contract for like another 6 years.

 

Looking at that contract to me it's a big role of the dice considering Gronk's injury history.  However he did play this entire year without injury so that is good.  But there is a lot of guaranteed money on there.

 

Of course the roll of the dice on it can pay off big time if he stays on the field.  

 

But much like RB's are trending down in salary,  Receiving TE's are trending up.  So the sooner you extend your TE's the better.  

[bestQBever]

they shouldn't .... Thomas is a big threat

but Eric Decker's numbers sure went down when he left Denver

I don't know.... 900+ yards is pretty decent with Geno smith as your QB.

[oldunclemark]

I don't know.... 900+ yards is pretty decent with Geno smith as your QB.

900 is pretty good BQB....especially with geno..

But he gained 1,400 with Peyton...that's the drop off youd have to expect from Julius, too

[bestQBever]

900 is pretty good BQB....especially with geno..

But he gained 1,400 with Peyton...that's the drop off youd have to expect from Julius, too

Well that's not their fault then. It's the QB / offenses fault. and I actually really like derek Carr so I can see Julius getting 800 yards and 9 td's

[IcEWoLF]

they shouldn't .... Thomas is a big threat

but Eric Decker's numbers sure went down when he left Denver

 

Who would have thought that? Can't blame Decker when you have a **** offense like the Jets and Geno.

[JerodMayo51]

Who would have thought that? Can't blame Decker when you have a **** offense like the Jets and Geno.

randy Moss in his prime would have disappeared in the Jets offense lol

he nearly disappeared in Oakland and they were the greatest show on turf compared to the Jets

[JerodMayo51]

900 is pretty good BQB....especially with geno..

But he gained 1,400 with Peyton...that's the drop off youd have to expect from Julius, too

He had demarius Thomas drawing coverage away from him, Welker in the slot and Julius from the TE position

The Broncos offense was a totally different animal compared to the Jets inept offense. Calvin Johnsons production would go way down in that Jets offense

[JerodMayo51]

900 is pretty good BQB....especially with geno..

But he gained 1,400 with Peyton...that's the drop off youd have to expect from Julius, too

Just for arguments sake, Welkers production dropped significantly after leaving the Patriots

You can't always look at just the raw numbers, you have to look at the whole offense, who the qb is and what their role in that offense was

[SouthernCal]

Just for arguments sake, Welkers production dropped significantly after leaving the Patriots

You can't always look at just the raw numbers, you have to look at the whole offense, who the qb is and what their role in that offense was

Denver had like 4-5 receivers to throw to. Like you said, he was the slot. The production should go down as expected.

[dgambill]

Julius was reported as not willing to play at even 90% of health and was privately being called out by DT as not wanting to play in NE. Denver fans pretty much are willing to write him off. A guy that was a beast when on the field but doesn't love playing football...taking hits...or playing hurt. He is a big redzone target but I think Virgil Green is the better fit in the new system and will be re-signed along with probably Owen Daniels. They will utilize that money in a more productive way by trying to keep some other guys and bring in some help on the OL imo.

[JerodMayo51]

Denver had like 4-5 receivers to throw to. Like you said, he was the slot. The production should go down as expected.

Right, I agree.. but if you remove that context and just look at the numbers side by side, you could come to several different conclusions that very likely may not be even the least bit accurate

[SouthernCal]

Right, I agree.. but if you remove that context and just look at the numbers side by side, you could come to several different conclusions that very likely may not be even the least bit accurate

Volume stats? Bad moments in big games? Trying his best not to get hit because of concussion issue?

I'm gonna check up Welker's stats because that's probably the case.

[oldunclemark]

Just for arguments sake, Welkers production dropped significantly after leaving the Patriots

You can't always look at just the raw numbers, you have to look at the whole offense, who the qb is and what their role in that offense was

In this case you can look at raw numbers....Decker went to a lesser QB and did less.

Thomas will do well in Oakland but he wont put up double digit TD seasons

Wes Welker was on his way to 1000 yards before he got hurt.

I know youd agree that it would be overanalyzing things to say that the QB throwing him the ball wont limit what a receiver leaving Denver and Manning ..can accomplish...

[oldunclemark]

Right, I agree.. but if you remove that context and just look at the numbers side by side, you could come to several different conclusions that very likely may not be even the least bit accurate

What you're saying is that if you don't really think about it too deeply, you can 'make an arguement' and that's very true