Demaryius Thomas to skip the Broncos offseason program

ESPN's Jeff Legwold spoke to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas today, and Thomas told Legwold that he will not join Manning at Duke and will be skipping the Broncos offseason workouts.

Just spoke to Demaryius Thomas -- in L.A for Call of Duty charity event ... he won't work out at Duke w/Mannjng or be at offseason program.

— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) March 30, 2015

This doesn't come as a huge surprise as the Broncos and Thomas couldn't come to an agreement on a long-term deal this offseason and decided to place the Franchise Tag on him. The Broncos and Thomas have until July 15th to work on a long-term deal. If they fail to agree on one, Thomas will play the 2015 season under the Franchise Tag.

Thomas also noted that he will not be joining quarterback Peyton Manning and his fellow Broncos teammates in Duke for Manning's annual workouts. I do find it a little odd that Thomas would be skipping the Duke workouts since they're not considered a team workout.

Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway has previously said that he wants and will work towards getting a long-term deal in place with Thomas.

"We'd like him to remain a Denver Bronco, and that's one of our goals, to be able to get that done. I'm trying to get together with his agent, and hopefully we can do that. We'll continue to work diligently on trying to get something done."

Thomas has also said that he would like something to workout between him and the Broncos.

Demaryius Thomas said he hopes new deal gets worked out -- "I want it to" -- has been working out in Atlanta.

— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) March 30, 2015

In five seasons with the Denver Broncos, Thomas has totaled 351 receptions, for 5,317 yards, and 41 touchdowns. He's coming off a 2014 season where he totaled 111 receptions(career high) for 1,619 yards(career high), and 11 touchdowns.

One player who could benefit from Thomas's absence is second-year wide receiver Cody Latimer. He will be joining Manning in Duke this spring and will be getting more reps now that Thomas will be skipping these workouts.

"I feel like I’m ready, especially coming in a new offense, everybody gets a clean slate so we’re all starting from Day 1, and it’ll be exciting," he said. "I get to work with Peyton coming up soon, so he’ll be able to get me more into the offense and getting my learning curve, taking it to the next level."

The Broncos are expecting big things from Latimer and now will be able to get a better look at him with Demaryius Thomas skipping these workouts.