Demaryius Thomas opens up on trade rumors and his uncertain future

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos dominated the headlines over the weekend despite not taking the field.

With the weekend off, multiple Broncos players were connected with trade rumors, with the most notable, and serious, being Demaryius Thomas.

On Monday, Thomas addressed the trade rumors for the first time, not putting out any flames to the growing fires.

“That’s a good thing if somebody is interested in me and I can still play ball,” Thomas stated, looking for the positives while standing in the Broncos’ locker room. “I still got a chance, if I get traded. Of course, I want to be here, but, you know, been hearing it the whole season. I feel like somewhat of it is true —my time here is coming up, but I don’t know.”

Thomas is the longest-tenured player currently on the roster, joining the team as their first-round pick in 2010.

However, with second-round pick Courtland Sutton quickly proving he needs more opportunities, and Thomas’ steep cap hits this year, and next — $12.03 million in 2018 and $17.53 million in 2019 — reports have surfaced that Denver is taking calls about trading the 30-year-old receiver.

“I’de love to be here,” he said, reaffirming his commitment to the organization. “I’m going to do what I got to do to make sure I’m ready to play every week in and out, if I’m here or with any other team. I’de love to be here — I’ve been here my whole career for nine years now, but it is what it is. Like I said before, it’s the league, it’s football, this is what happens.”

As a seasoned vet, Thomas is well aware that loyalty doesn’t exist in the league. As a soft-spoken leader of the team, Thomas rarely makes the headlines, and his high-end play on the field has gone relatively overlooked over the years.

But he’s fully aware his scenery could be changing as the NFL’s trade deadline approaches on Oct. 30.

“It’s football, man. It’s a business. That’s what happens. It’s happened before,” Thomas said, owning the situation. “I never thought it would happen to me, but I’m just like everybody else. I’m an athlete, and it happens once you get older.”

Through seven games of the season, Thomas ranks second on the team in targets (49), receptions (33) and receiving yards (372), only training Emmanuel Sanders. He is tied with Sanders for a team-best three touchdowns.

Despite being on pace for the third-fewest receiving yards in his career (850), Thomas feels “good” about his level of play right now.

“I’m telling you, my game is good,” he said, stating a case for himself. “My game’s good.”

While Thomas waits to find out his future, he relies on his teammates to stay focused on not worrying about who he will be playing for in November.

“These guys in the locker room keep my head on straight, and I don’t think about it and just go on about my business and control what I can control,” he stated. “That’s all I do. Every day in and out — I control what I can control, and the rest will pan out for itself.”

In Denver’s 45-10 blowout win against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Thomas became just the second player in franchise history to eclipse 9,000 receiving yards.

He trails only Rod Smith in receiving yards (9,025) and receiving touchdowns (60) and is behind Smith and Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe in career receptions (662) in the franchise’s history.