Houston's Demaryius Thomas Told To Move On By Broncos Coach

Houston Texans wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has been told by Denver Broncos coach Vance Joseph to move on.

Thomas was traded by the Broncos on the Tuesday deadline last week to the Texans for fourth and seventh-round picks in the 2019 NFL draft. Houston would also receive a seventh-round pick in the process.

It came as a surprise to many as Thomas was not expected to be dealt, and the 30-year-old was understandably not pleased with the trade, especially after being told by Joseph that he wouldn't be moving to a new team.

“It was so tough,’’ Thomas told 760 AM earlier this week, as quoted on SI. “Even leading up to the Kansas City game it was tough, because that one day, I didn't say anything to anybody. I walk into the job and Vance Joseph walks up to me and says, 'Don't listen to the trade talks, it's not true.'"

"I heard they were saying that Vance was saying something, and [general manager] Elway was saying something. I did so much for this organization and never had nothing bad to say about anybody. None of the players I played with. I just did my job and kept it as professional as I could. For you all to say that I was one of the reasons that the offense wasn’t going, and say this and that, man, that hurt,” he said.

Thomas, who before the trade had 36 receptions for 402 yards and three touchdowns for the season, also took grievance with receiver coach Zach Azzanni as well as the fact that he wasn't named captain.

“My receiver coach came to me and said — he could've said this to either Courtland (Sutton) or Emmanuel (Sanders), but he came to me and said it — he said, 'I want to get DaeSean in the game more than one rep. I want to get him going 4 to 6 plays of reps,'" Thomas added. “I'm like, 'Bro, I've been here nine years and you ask me besides anybody else?' I'm like, 'That's so disrespectful to me, because I've put so much into this game, but you want me to come out for a rookie?'"

Joseph replied to those comments during his Wednesday press conference and was disappointed with the way Thomas saw things.

"He's got to move on. We've got to move on," Joseph said. "He's no longer a Bronco, and I can't spend any time worrying about that. But as far as reading that stuff, I'm disappointed it was presented that way, I really am."

"It was obviously a week and a half where the rumors and gossip were flowing, and we talked about the rumors and gossip. Until something happened, we all had to focus on doing our jobs and winning football games. That was, from my end, that was discussed. I’m disappointed in how he remembers it, but again, we have great respect for D.T. He was a great player here, and we honored him on Sunday. We didn’t win the game; he won the game. I think it’s a little frustration on his part, but I’m disappointed in how it came out because I don’t recall it being discussed that way. And that’s OK," he said.

As for Thomas not being named a captain, Joseph explained how it's a voting process.

"They vote for the guys they see fit, who they want to lead their football team," Joseph added. "So, I'm not sure where that came from or who discussed that with D.T. But again, I have great respect for him. The players vote for the captains. They voted for who they thought were the best guys to lead their football team. And that's it."

Thomas notably played against his old side in his first game for the Texans as they went on to win 19-17 over the weekend. The wide receiver had three receptions for 61 yards.