HEADLINES

DaeSean Hamilton

Broncos To Waive DaeSean Hamilton

May 13th, 2021 at 2:10pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

DaeSean Hamilton‘s time in Denver has come to an end. The Broncos are waiving the receiver from Penn State, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).

We had heard about a month ago that the Broncos may trade Hamilton around the draft, but obviously nothing materialized. Garafolo writes that they “had trade talks” recently “but couldn’t finalize a deal.” Garafolo also says that Hamilton is a “strong possibility to be claimed” on waivers. Hamilton was a fourth-round pick back in 2018 and was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract.

Penn State’s all-time leading receiver has had between 23-30 catches and 243-297 yards in all three of his pro seasons. He’s flashed some potential at times, but has gotten buried on the depth chart. The Broncos have Courtland Sutton coming back from an ACL tear, and just drafted Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler in the first and second rounds last year, making Hamilton expendable.

Denver also has Tim Patrick coming back and just used a sixth-round pick on receiver Seth Williams, so the receiving room was getting pretty crowded. Hamilton turned 26 in March, and will undoubtedly get another shot somewhere.

Broncos May Trade DaeSean Hamilton

April 15th, 2021 at 2:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Broncos have Courtland Sutton coming back from an ACL tear in 2021. They also drafted Jerry Jeudy in the first-round last year, and K.J. Hamler in the second. They also have Tim Patrick coming off a breakout 742-yard season.

Needless to say, the receivers room is a bit crowded at the moment. That surplus of wideouts could lead to a trade around the draft, and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network says to keep an eye on DaeSean Hamilton (Twitter video link). The Broncos have “gotten inquiries” on Hamilton, Garafolo reports, and he believes Denver “would move him for the right price.”

Considering Hamilton was a fourth-round pick in 2018 and hasn’t done a ton in the league, it likely wouldn’t take more than a Day 3 pick to get a trade done. As Garafolo points out, new Broncos GM George Paton also has no ties to Hamilton, making him more easily expendable.

Penn State’s all-time leading receiver has had between 23-30 catches and 243-297 yards in all three of his pro seasons. He’s set to enter the final year of his rookie deal in 2021.

He only just turned 26 and has flashed some potential while being buried on the depth chart, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a team that misses out on a receiver in the early rounds of the draft pulls the trigger here.

Thomas Eyeing Several More Seasons

August 8th, 2018 at 6:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Hip and neck troubles plagued Demaryius Thomas the past two seasons, enough so the Broncos’ top wide receiver contemplated near-future retirement — either after the 2018 season or the ’19 campaign, James Palmer of NFL.com reports. But a now-reinvigorated Thomas is looking at his career differently.

A new diet and a leaner physique has the 30-year-old wideout wanting to extend his career well into the 2020s, even though he acknowledges things change quickly.

“Now I’m thinking, 15 or 16 (years),” Thomas told Palmer. “Like, for real, I’m going to be like Larry Fitzgerald. Maybe even more. It just depends, you know? I mean, s—, tomorrow I could finish my career off of one crazy injury. But yeah, my mindset has changed.”

Thomas dropped more than 10 pounds this offseason, being currently under 220, per Palmer. And he’s obviously not experiencing the kind of hip pain that bothered him in 2016 and ’17. Even entering this season on the heels of the aforementioned injury-restricted ones, Thomas has played in 107 straight games since the 2011 season.

“For, like, the past two years, for real, it’s been my neck and my hip,” Thomas said, via Palmer. “It was just times I couldn’t compete my best. And you know, sometimes, I remember one game we were playing the Patriots, and the (then-Patriots) corner (Logan Ryan) called it out. He said, ‘You’re not yourself.’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’m doing whatever I can to try to get (coverage) attention.’ ”

“Like, for real, with all the problems with my hip, especially with my hip, it was like, sometimes I couldn’t even stop.”

Palmer notes one of Thomas’ hip labrums is partially torn. It’s not known what medical treatments Thomas underwent (if any) to recover from these maladies in order to be ready for this season.

If Thomas wants to play well into his 30s, he may have to relocate. By virtue of the Broncos picking up Thomas’ $4MM option, the Georgia Tech product will play a fourth season on his five-year, $70MM deal. But Thomas’ 2019 contract year will feature a $17.53MM cap number — up $5MM from this season’s — and the Broncos shedding that salary will save them $14MM. Of course, Emmanuel Sanders‘ contract expires after the 2019 season as well, and he’s due nearly $13MM in 2019.

With the Broncos having drafted Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton this year, it seems a somewhat safe bet to assume at least one of their longtime starters will be elsewhere in 2019. Though, they might be hesitant to part ways with both Thomas and Sanders given their importance to the Denver passing game the past four seasons. The Broncos and Thomas believe both rookies will make an immediate impact, per Palmer, with Sutton in particular drawing rave reviews in camp. Denver, though, has failed repeatedly to identify auxiliary receiving talent over the past three years, with previous Day 2 draft choices Cody Latimer and Carlos Henderson not working out.

Although Thomas’ 1,000-yard streak stopped at five due to 2017’s 949-yard showing, he passed Shannon Sharpe in both career receiving yardage and touchdowns (as Broncos) last season. He’s second behind Rod Smith in both categories with the Broncos.

Broncos Agree To Terms With 7 Draftees

May 10th, 2018 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos made 10 picks in this past draft, and seven of those have agreed to terms on their four-year rookie contracts, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. While Bradley Chubb is not among this group, Denver has the majority of its 2018 class locked in. Here’s the full rundown:

Sutton, though, is under contract now. He’s the most notable draft investment the Broncos have made at wide receiver since Demaryius Thomas in 2010, profiling as a slightly higher-regarded second-round pick than Cody Latimer four years ago. The SMU product is expected to develop behind Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders while potentially working in as a No. 3 wideout this season. Hamilton will attempt to do the same, and the former Nittany Lions standout could well compete with 2017 draftee Carlos Henderson for the Broncos’ slot job — one the franchise has struggled to fill since Wes Welker departed.

Fumagalli will compete for time in an uncertain tight end group, an all-Big Ten-produced contingent featuring intriguing second-year player Jake Butt and thus-far-underwhelming fourth-year man Jeff Heuerman. This shapes up to be an interesting competition. Fellow Big Ten alum Jewell will likely be thrust into work as a special-teamer and reserve behind inside linebackers Brandon Marshall and Todd Davis.

The only Broncos picks still unsigned are Chubb and third-rounders Royce Freeman and Isaac Yiadom.