Two days after signing a five-year, $70 million contract that made him the one of the three highest-paid receivers in the National Football League, the Denver Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas met with the media to discuss his new contract, the negotiation process, his mother and the expectations he now has to be a leader.
Here are some of the highlights:
Thomas: “It’s been a while, but thank you to you guys. And I also want to thank the fans for being patient. It’s been a long offseason with my mom’s situation and the franchise [tag] and quarterback situation. But I’m happy to be back…”
Thomas: “I always wanted to finish a Bronco and retire a Bronco. I kind of knew we would get something done. It was just (getting) the right thing. Once it happened, I was like, ‘I can have two things happen in one week’ and it’s just amazing.”
Thomas: “I wasn’t going to sit out games. I was going to still play. It’s just the fact of the kind of shape I would be in. But I was still going to play. I was going to play every 16 games.”
Thomas: “I kind of knew a week before. Just talking to my agent, he and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager John) Elway were going back and forth. I kind of knew the week before that I felt like I was going to get a deal done.”
Thomas: “I was in the office for probably two hours at the most. It was basically just going up and signing it. I was proud. It wasn’t much. I didn’t have to talk to anybody. I just had to sign.”
Thomas: “I woke up that morning and I saw two missed phone calls from (my mom), and probably 10 minutes later, she had called me again. I knew it was something because I’ve never seen her call me that early. She told me the news. The first thing she said was she would be out November 10. But she called me back a couple hours later. She’ll actually get out probably two more weeks (later) to go to a halfway house. That’s kind of good. She’ll be back in Georgia. I don’t know how long she’ll be there but I look forward to her coming to her first game.”
Thomas: “I was hearing from my mom and granny at the same time that he would be picking some women. For my mom to be one of the 46, it was a blessing.”
Thomas: “I still remember from draft day, I had no idea that I was going to be a Bronco. From that day on, I said I was going to be the best that I could be to help this team win a Super Bowl or win a lot of games. So far, we haven’t gotten the Super Bowl. We still have some work to do, and I look forward to working and getting a Super Bowl before I’m done.”
Thomas: “I got a lot of support from everybody. I had a FaceTime call with Von (Miller) and a couple of the other guys. I talked to Peyton (Manning) here and there. There was a lot of support. They just said, ‘Get everything done and we can’t wait to have you back.'”
Thomas: “I never talked to Dez Bryant over the phone. The only time that I ever talked to him was at an event. I wasn’t worried about it. I knew something was going to get done, so I just let my agent handle it. I think my main focus was to be in better shape than I was in last year because I want to have a better than I had last year.”
Thomas: “Before we played the Colts there were guys saying how they didn’t want to go to the cold weather because they found out that the Patriots had won. I knew it was not a good situation then and that’s what I meant. I think we’re a whole new team, with a different coaching staff and different mindset. There are new faces around, so we’re looking forward to it and hopefully there aren’t guys saying the same thing as last year.
Thomas: “I know I need to be a leader. I’m a quiet guy and don’t say much, but like old guys like Champ (Bailey) and Brian Dawkins were telling me I need to step up—and Shannon Sharpe telling me to step up and be a leader. When I hear that from those guys, it really means something. I need to step up and have the guys listen to me.”
