NFL Trade Rumors: Broncos might not have enough to Keep Julius Thomas

Julius Thomas will be one of the biggest names in the NFL free agent market during this upcoming season and sources believe that the Denver Broncos will not be able to offer a competitive contract.

Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com wrote:

"Certainly a player with back-to-back seasons of 12 touchdown receptions, as Thomas has had, is going to draw some interest in the open market. As a result, Thomas will be somebody's priority target. With the Broncos set to use the franchise player tag on wide receiver Demaryius Thomas to go with needs on the offensive line, it will be tough for the Broncos to make Julius Thomas the kind of offer he will likely draw elsewhere - similar to the Eric Decker scenario last offseason Thomas' representatives, as you would expect, have made it clear to the Broncos he wants to be among the league's highest-paid players at the position."

He added that out of the three pending free agents, Virgil Green could be the tight end that the Broncos will focus on resigning because he was the team's best combined blocker/receiver this season.

When healthy, Thomas, 26, excels at the tight end position. He is the first tight end in NFL history to record at least 12 touchdowns in two consecutive seasons. In the first eight games of this past season, Thomas caught 10 touchdowns. During the later half of the season, however, Thomas was riddled with injuries and only caught two touchdowns. Thomas has yet to play in more than 14 games per season.

"I think he's a very good athlete, but not an elite athlete. I don't know that he has a Jimmy Graham-type of ceiling. You do look at what happened to the Broncos' offense after he got hurt last season. It was much worse. They went to the run. A lot of people said that was because of Peyton Manning, but another big reason was this guy was out. They lost that red zone production. But if he goes to, say, Jacksonville and is the top receiver on that team, I could see him really taken away by defenses. There is some 'buyer beware' there, to me, in terms of a guy where his stats are great but then, depending on his next home, could fall off in a big way," ESPN scout Matt Williamson said.

The NFL free agent market will open next month.