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- Mar 19, 2019
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Veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas has been reunited with the man who made Thomas a first-round draft pick nine years ago. Whether it lasts into September remains to be seen.
From the moment the former Broncos receiver signed with the Patriots, where former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels serves as the offensive coordinator, speculation has lingered that Thomas could go the way of other older players who for whatever reason didn’t mesh with the Patriot Way. Phil Perry of NBCSportsBoston.com omits Thomas from a 53-man roster projection that has Julian Edelman, N'Keal Harry, Phillip Dorsett, Dontrelle Inman, Braxton Berrios, and special-teams ace Matthew Slater as the six wideouts who’ll make the cut.
Thomas received a $150,000 signing bonus on his one-year contract, so there would be relatively minimal downside to cutting him.
In April, Chris Simms pegged the chances of Thomas landing on the active regular-season roster at 50-50. If he does, Thomas could miss the first game of the season, if the league suspends him for an offseason automobile accident that resulted in injuries to a passenger and a guilty plea to misdemeanor charges.
Since signing Thomas, the Patriots have drafted Harry and signed Inman. That naturally will make it harder for Thomas to make the team — especially since he’ll need to be high enough on the roster to avoid the special-teams obligations that usually fall to the fourth, fifth, and sixth receivers on the depth chart.