If Elway Has To Choose A Thomas, Ed McCaffrey Says Keep Demaryius Over Julius
DENVER (CBS4) - John Elway will face a different type of challenge this offseason. Instead of shopping for free agents that are available to make the Broncos better, he'll be focusing on the free agents of his own.
Of the 17 free agents the Broncos have, some of the big names Elway will need to look at keeping are wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, tight end Julius Thomas, linebacker Brandon Marshall and defensive tackle Terrance Knighton.
Obviously, the two biggest names on offense are Demaryius and Julius Thomas. Former Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey was quick to say he'd keep Demaryius over Julius if Elway ends up having to pick between the two.
"Because he is a big time playmaking wide receiver who can do some things that not a lot of wide receivers can do," McCaffrey said on Xfinity Monday Live!
But McCaffrey said he wasn't at all knocking Julius' talent.
"I think Julius Thomas is one of the best receiving tight ends in the league. He's not a double threat in terms of blocker and receiver."
The ideal situation for Elway would be to keep both, but with a little over $27.8 million in available cap space, he might have to make a tough decision.
"They're both good. If you keep both of them, you keep them. But you have to make those tough decisions. I think you could probably find a tight end closer to Julius than you could a receiver closer to Demaryius for the same pay," McCaffrey said. "But you can't keep everyone, and when you have success, guys -- they move on."
On another topic, McCaffrey feels that new head coach Gary Kubiak is a great fit for the Broncos and will work very well with Elway.
"I played for Gary for 10 years … he's a class act, he's a man of character and integrity, and he's a great football mind," McCaffrey said. "I know that John and Gary will see eye to eye on a lot of different things, and I think he's a great hire."
But he said Kubiak has also hardened over the years since becoming a head coach of the Houston Texans.
"He also is a competitor and he wants to win. And so sometimes the head football coach, you have to make tough decisions that don't please everybody; and I think he's prepared to do that."
McCaffrey believes that Kubiak, although he had some success in Houston, will do even better the second time around.
"Like anything else, you get thrown into the fire, you learn by going out there and competing, and sometimes you learn the hard way," he said. "All of his experiences leading up to this have prepared him to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos."
Watch more of the video with Ed McCaffrey in the Xfinity Monday Live! section.
- By Matthew J. Buettner, CBSDenver.com
