Denver Broncos: Wide Receiver Purge May Be Looming

Things need to change for the Denver Broncos offense. The outstanding unit they were five years ago is long gone and it’s only getting worse.

For the longest time they were able to lean on the talent of their two stars at wide receiver in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. When they were at their best they could make average quarterbacks look good. Sadly father time has begun to catch up with them. Both are 30-years old now and seeing their production decline. Part of that is due to a rough quarterback situation in fairness. At the same time this isn’t a pairing that scares defenses like they used to.

VP John Elway is left with a decision to make. Does he keep them around a little longer and see if he can get the quarterback the team needs? Or does he revamp the entire thing on offense, unloading their expensive contracts in favor of cheaper, younger talent? This depends largely on whether he thinks the team still has even a small window to get back to the Super Bowl. Based on recent hints that does not seem likely.

Sanders becoming too unreliable to keep around?

After reaching two-straight Pro Bowls in 2015 and 2016, things went downhill quickly for Sanders. He missed four games with injury and clearly wasn’t healthy for others. He managed barely half the production of his 2016 season, leaving some to wonder if his body is breaking down. Thomas has long some production as well but he hasn’t missed a game in years.

Smart money at this point says the Broncos will cut ties with Sanders but keep Thomas on for now, using him as a buffer until they can reload the position with more talent. The good news free agency might offer them some immediate solutions. That may be the preferred route if they go after a quarterback early in the draft.