The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... The Broncos and Thomas, their two-time Pro Bowl tight end, haven't formally split, but they seem to be headed their separate ways. Neither side has said much about how their contract negotiations fractured, but Thomas in recent months has received unflattering commentary from bloggers and tweeters. "The Broncos came to me, we tried to get it done, it didn't work," Frank Bauer, Thomas' agent, said Friday. "Does Julius love Denver? Yes. Does Julius love the fans there? No question. Does he love the organization and the community? Look at what he does for kids in that town. But for some reason people are trying to tear him down. In my opinion what they're doing by tearing him down is pushing him away."

Diehards Line: Thomas will become an unrestricted free agent on March 10. While it's possible the Broncos will revisit negotiations, no talks are scheduled. The Broncos had tried to work out a contract extension with Thomas last summer. Talks broke off with the team's latest extension offer coming in at five years, $40 million, or $8 million a year. It would have made him the league's third-highest-paid tight end, behind only Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. That's the team's view. However, the Broncos also wanted to keep Thomas' 2014 salary at $645,000. So another way to look at the deal was six years and $40.645 million, or $6.77 million a year. That would have ranked No. 9 in average value among tight ends. That's the player's view. At this point it seems unlikely the two sides will reach an agreement before Thomas gets a chance to test free agency. The Falcons are reportedly ready to make a run at him when/if they get the opportunity.