The Denver Broncos have Peyton Manning back for another season and heading into minicamp, the quarterback is unhappy that Demaryius Thomas remains unsigned, as the wide receiver may pull a holdout in training camp and this comes as Gary Kubiak is putting in a new offense, while CJ Anderson has stepped up as the likely starter over Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman for 2015.
The Broncos brought in Kubiak to take over for John Fox and this offseason the main priority is installing a new offensive system. Manning is one of the smartest players in the game, but after playing in one offense for a few years, he now has to adapt to some new schemes from Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, learning the new offense and getting comfortable with it are partly why Manning is upset that Thomas is not with the team this offseason.
Rapoport reports that Manning is "upset about the absence of a new deal" for Thomas, as he wants the entire team to get up to speed about the new offensive system. Dennison came out last week and said that Thomas likely would be able to pick things up "quickly" but that probably did not make Manning feel better. The team has Emmanuel Sanders and Cody Latimer as the main wideouts behind Thomas and they will step up as starters with him out for camp.
Last season Thomas had this third straight monster season and he was hit with the franchise tag this offseason by the Broncos. The two sides have until July 15 to work out a long term deal and so far the two sides have not come close to agreeing. John Elway came out and said that Thomas should be present at workouts even without a deal, but so far that has not happened. The wideout one year deal for the franchise tag is around $13 million and Dez Bryant is also staying away from minicamp, as he is also on the tag.
According to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com, the Broncos have been satisfied with how CJ Anderson has been looking in workouts this offseason and he likely will be the starter when training camp opens. Montee Ball dealt with injuries last season and Anderson was able to step up with his chances down the stretch, going for over 600 yards rushing in the last six games of the season. Kubiak said that "it's his spot to hang on to" regarding Anderson being the starter.
Manning is looking to have Thomas back for training camp and while the two don't need to work on chemistry on a personal level after playing together for multiple seasons, Manning likely wants to get fully comfortable in the new offense from Kubiak. while things will not be very different or difficult for Manning to deal with, it's a new system from what he was previously working with under Adam Gase and he will want to get a used to it as possible before the regular season. Having all the starters in camp helps Manning with that and that is why he wants Thomas and the Broncos to work things out.
