ICON
07-11-2007, 04:00 PM
By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Among 2007 draft picks and signed contracts, the last shall be first.
Wednesday morning, the Broncos announced that defensive tackle Marcus Thomas signed with the club. Terms were undisclosed for the deal with the fourth-round pick.
The Broncos made waves when they acquired Thomas, sending their sixth- and seventh-round selections in this year's draft and a 2008 third-rounder to the Minnesota Vikings in order to acquire him.
Some observers considered the price for the selection steep, a notion with which Head Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Ted Sundquist disagreed.
"Not if you had him graded as a first-round pick," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said just after making the swap and selection on April 29. "It's a steep price if he's not with our program in two weeks. Then it's a steep price."
""The 'steep price to pay' thing, once again, I'm baffled by, 'Why?'" Sundquist said in May. "It's too steep of a price if we end up picking in the top five of each round. But when has that happened in the life of most of our fans?
"To me, when you identify a player that you feel like can come in and contribute to your football team now, I'm not going to sit and wait and say, 'It's too steep a price,' because there's this fictional ghost player in the third round next year that we could take -- and no one knows who that player would be."
Thomas was dismissed from Florida's football program last November after a pair of positive drug tests. He spent the months that followed trying to convince NFL teams that such missteps would not happen again.
"When I talked about it, it was like going to court every day," Thomas said in April. "Denver and Tennessee were the only two teams that were going to give me a second chance. I talked to the coaches at Denver, and they told me that they would be willing to give me a second chance. I made a good story out of it, and now I am trying to live happily ever after."
But Shanahan emphasized after selecting Thomas that there would be no room for error.
"There is no second chance," Shanahan said on April 29.
"We talked about taking an educated gamble. You have to sit down with the player, and that player has to understand what the rules and regulations are and what the organization's all about. If they do make a mistake, then you have to release that player.
"If he doesn't abide by those guidelines, he won't be with us, but I will be surprised if he doesn't."
Like any rookie, Thomas had to make adjustments upon arriving in Denver -- and not just to the altitude and climate which is far different than he knew from growing up in Jacksonville, Fla.
"Gerard Warren and a couple of the older players were helping me out trying to get my stance right, (to get out of) that funky college stance and into a pro stance," Thomas said in May. "I'm trying to get used to that."
Denver has signed all but one of its draft picks over the previous five years prior to the start of training camp. The lone exception was 2004 second-round pick Tatum Bell, who signed his contract three days into camp.
MORE FROM MINICAMP:http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=6921
DenverBroncos.com
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Among 2007 draft picks and signed contracts, the last shall be first.
Wednesday morning, the Broncos announced that defensive tackle Marcus Thomas signed with the club. Terms were undisclosed for the deal with the fourth-round pick.
The Broncos made waves when they acquired Thomas, sending their sixth- and seventh-round selections in this year's draft and a 2008 third-rounder to the Minnesota Vikings in order to acquire him.
Some observers considered the price for the selection steep, a notion with which Head Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Ted Sundquist disagreed.
"Not if you had him graded as a first-round pick," Head Coach Mike Shanahan said just after making the swap and selection on April 29. "It's a steep price if he's not with our program in two weeks. Then it's a steep price."
""The 'steep price to pay' thing, once again, I'm baffled by, 'Why?'" Sundquist said in May. "It's too steep of a price if we end up picking in the top five of each round. But when has that happened in the life of most of our fans?
"To me, when you identify a player that you feel like can come in and contribute to your football team now, I'm not going to sit and wait and say, 'It's too steep a price,' because there's this fictional ghost player in the third round next year that we could take -- and no one knows who that player would be."
Thomas was dismissed from Florida's football program last November after a pair of positive drug tests. He spent the months that followed trying to convince NFL teams that such missteps would not happen again.
"When I talked about it, it was like going to court every day," Thomas said in April. "Denver and Tennessee were the only two teams that were going to give me a second chance. I talked to the coaches at Denver, and they told me that they would be willing to give me a second chance. I made a good story out of it, and now I am trying to live happily ever after."
But Shanahan emphasized after selecting Thomas that there would be no room for error.
"There is no second chance," Shanahan said on April 29.
"We talked about taking an educated gamble. You have to sit down with the player, and that player has to understand what the rules and regulations are and what the organization's all about. If they do make a mistake, then you have to release that player.
"If he doesn't abide by those guidelines, he won't be with us, but I will be surprised if he doesn't."
Like any rookie, Thomas had to make adjustments upon arriving in Denver -- and not just to the altitude and climate which is far different than he knew from growing up in Jacksonville, Fla.
"Gerard Warren and a couple of the older players were helping me out trying to get my stance right, (to get out of) that funky college stance and into a pro stance," Thomas said in May. "I'm trying to get used to that."
Denver has signed all but one of its draft picks over the previous five years prior to the start of training camp. The lone exception was 2004 second-round pick Tatum Bell, who signed his contract three days into camp.
MORE FROM MINICAMP:http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=6921