The Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys have two top offensive players each with expiring contracts, and their most important impending free agents to get lucrative deals done with are their No. 1 wide receivers. For the Cowboys, it’s all about trying to keep both Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray, who has been the league’s best running back this season, around, while John Elway and the Broncos will focus on trying to keep Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas as part of the “Four Horsemen” for legendary QB Peyton Manning.
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CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora reports that both star wide receivers will likely get slapped with the franchise tag in the offseason, as they haven’t been able to make enough progress in talks with teams. Both are sure-fire top ten receivers, and I have Thomas safely nestled in my top five due to his blend of size, awareness, and explosiveness after the catch. Bryant is also arguably a top-five player at the position, and these two first-round picks in the same class deserve to be handsomely paid for their services.
Per La Canfora, Bryant does indeed believe that last week’s leak about character concerns were planted by the Cowboys in order to try and drive down his price, though Jerry Jones did at least reach out to his new agency, Roc Nation, recently. It’s clear that both players are going to get the money they deserve, though neither of them will want the lack of security presented by the franchise tag. For these two players, it’s likely all about the guaranteed money, since that’s something teams aren’t giving these days, which is terrible news for players who risk injury every time they put on pads.