NFL Rumors: Demaryius Thomas Skips Mandatory Broncos Minicamp, Gary Kubiak ‘Confident’ he will Sign

By Cheri Cheng - 10 Jun '15 11:29AM

The standoff between Demaryius Thomas and the Denver Broncos might be ending very soon.

Denver Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak stated that he is "very confident" that Thomas and the Broncos will reach an agreement before training camp in late July, ESPN.com Jeff Legwold reported. Kubiak added that he believes the wide receiver, who just skipped mandatory minicamp, will sign to a long-term deal. Thomas has not attended any offseason workouts with the team.

Over the past few weeks, a few of Thomas' teammates, who include Emmanuel Sanders, Von Miller and Peyton Manning, have stated that Thomas should be offered a contract that he "deserves." Broncos' executive vice president of football operations/general manager, John Elway, also reassured that a deal will get done.

"John and I talk about it all the time, but I just try to stay focused on what we're doing right now," Kubiak said. "Going to continue to talk to, have some conversations through [wide receivers coach] Tyke [Tolbert] or somebody to Demaryius on exactly where he's at with our stuff. He's been studying our stuff, he's got all our cut-ups and that type of thing. Peyton and he are visiting consistently."

He added, "I hear he's working extremely hard. ... His play speaks for itself. We expect him to be himself and ready to go. I'm just looking forward to it, looking forward to spending time with him, getting going."

The Broncos used the franchise tag on Thomas in March. The tag, which Thomas has not signed, comes with a one-year, $12.823 million tender. Since Thomas is not officially under contract, he does not get fined for missing mandatory practice/workout sessions.

Thomas has until July 15 to negotiate a long-term deal. His camp and the Broncos have reportedly been exchanging proposals for weeks. His contract is expected to be one of the biggest for a receiver in the league.

Thomas has previously stated that if no deal is agreed upon, he would sign the franchise tag and play one year.