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That didn't take long. ... Just moments after the Cowboys and their franchise-tagged wideout, Dez Bryant, agreed to terms on a new, long-term contract, the Broncos and their franchise-tagged receiver, Demaryius Thomas, also reached agreement on a five-year, $70 million deal that includes $43.5 million guaranteed.

Thomas' contract, first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter, essentially mirrors Bryant's contract in Dallas -- minus about $1.5 million in guaranteed money (Bryant gets $45 million guaranteed). Not surprisingly, both deals came in the final hour before the Wednesday afternoon deadline to reach long-term agreements.

Without them, both players had threatened to hold out rather than playing for the $12.82 million that franchised wide receivers were slated to receive.

Now all that is moot.

So what about the time Thomas missed as Denver's new coaching staff installed their offense and began getting the team up to speed in their system?

According to the Denver Post, incoming head coach Gary Kubiak recently admitted he had not been in touch with Thomas as much as some of the players or receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, who kept Thomas up to speed on the new scheme and changes on the field.

Yes, full participation in OTAs and voluntary mini-camps would have been nice, but even with Peyton Manning’s well-known desire to work extensively over the offseason, nobody should be hitting the panic button. Thomas has appeared in 69 regular-season games (55 starts) for the club. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, he has totaled 351 career receptions for 5,317 yards (15.1 avg.) with 41 touchdowns.

In addition, Manning and Thomas have combined for 35 touchdowns in the last three seasons, the second-most by a quarterback-wide receiver combo since 2012.

Expecting continued high-end production -- off-season program or not -- seems reasonable enough.