Denver Broncos wisely choosing Terrance Knighton over Julius Thomas?

The Denver Broncos have several notable free agents set to hit the open market in Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Terrance Knighton, Rahim Moore, Orlando Franklin, Wes Welker, Will Montgomery, Virgil Green, Nate Irving, and Jacob Tamme. It’s clear that out of the “big three” of Thomas, Orange Julius, and Knighton, Demaryius is the priority and is guaranteed to stay. There’s simply no way the Broncos allow arguably a top-five receiver and Peyton Manning‘s No. 1 target to depart, but it’s not as easy to say the same thing for either Julius or “Pot Roast”.

While the Broncos have enough cap space to feasibly keep two of their three big-name free agents, it’s possible that they could head into free agency with just Demaryius guaranteed to stick around for another season.

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The Denver Posts’ Mike Klis reported that the Broncos won’t meet with Julius Thomas’s player rep at the Combine, even though the Broncos have stated that they would like to keep their top two impending free agent pass-catchers. Actions speak louder than words, and it seems like the Broncos aren’t too keen on throwing money at a guy who rejected an $8 million offer before the start of the 2014 season.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Josina Anderson passed along a quote from Knighton yesterday, and the star defensive tackle stated that he feels frustrated and “somewhat” disrespected by the lack of mutual interest from the Broncos. Knighton genuinely seems to want to stay with the Super Bowl contenders for the foreseeable future, and it’s interesting to hear that he believes the Broncos didn’t even show zeal to re-sign him before the team lost Jack Del Rio to the Oakland Raiders and replaced him with Wade Phillips.

There’s a belief that the Broncos no longer want Knighton since they don’t view him as a scheme fit under Phillips, and, if this is true, it would be another reminder of how stubborn coaches are and how unwilling they are to adapt their scheme to a difference-maker. Despite injuries around him over the past couple of seasons, Knighton has helped lead the Broncos to elite run-stuffing performances time after time, as the team allowed just 3.7 yards per carry last season.

I really don’t see why the Broncos are so reluctant to get a deal done with Knighton, who is in the prime of his career at 28 and is one of the NFL’s beastliest run defenders. They made aggressive moves last offseason to add stars like DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward to their defense, and they signed Aqib Talib to replace Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie before throwing in a first-round corner, Bradley Roby, for good measure. Despite prioritizing the defense last offseason, the Broncos, based on what Knighton says, haven’t made an integral part of their defense a priority.

It will be interesting to see if the Broncos decide to let Knighton walk and then sign better scheme fits to their defensive line, because it’s also possible that he’s asking the team for too much money. He would definitely make more cash on the open market, but after a missed opportunity in the 2013 season, I have a feeling Knighton would like to stay with a Super Bowl contending organization. After all, he did spend most of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

There’s a part of me that believes the Broncos will have to choose between either Thomas or Knighton as the second big re-signing behind Demaryius, but there’s a chance that Denver could look past both of these players. Orange Julius wants to be paid like a top tight end, but the Broncos already gave him a fair-value deal before the season that would have made him the third-highest paid TE behind significantly better players in Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. What more does this guy want from a Super Bowl contending organization?

To me, it looks like Thomas wants to be the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, and that’s something he clearly doesn’t deserve. He doesn’t block like Gronk, and he isn’t as dominant as Graham. This is a guy who has missed a few games with nagging injuries and caught just 43 passes for 489 yards. He’s an incredibly versatile player who doubles as a beastly red zone weapon (24 TDs these past two seasons), and he does deserve to be the third highest-paid TE based on his age, 26, and timing.

That said, the Denver Broncos $8 million offer is more than fair, and the fact that he rejected it makes me believe he is dead-set on hitting the open market and creating a bidding war. Honestly, I don’t see a scenario in which the Broncos will re-sign him, and, if the rumor mill is to be believed, Terrance Knighton seems more willing to return.

Dec 28, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas (80) prepares to run a route against the Oakland Raiders in the second quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Knighton’s return almost seems to hinge on whether or not Phillips wants him, because the big DT has to be more valuable to the team than Thomas. While Orange Julius is an elite TE and a true difference-maker on offense, the Broncos will keep Demaryius and have Emmanuel Sanders with the chance of spending Orange Julius’s money on two quality pass-catchers for the price of one.

Manning needs his weapons, but the Broncos can’t afford to fall behind defensively, especially since Knighton allows the rest of the front seven to be much more active in both the running and passing game.

Based on the fact that Klis reported (post linked to above) the Broncos will meet with Knighton’s rep at the Combine (in addition to Franklin’s, Demaryius Thomas’s, and Moore’s reps), it seems like the Broncos aren’t as petty as the rumor mill says they are and view Knighton as a talent who transcends “scheme”.

They need to lock this guy up, he wants to stay, and they should have the ammunition to keep him with Thomas almost certainly set to hit the market. Julius is gone, because I honestly don’t see how the Broncos keep a guy who, again, rejected being the third highest-paid TE.

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