The Jaguars have reached an agreement with free-agent tight end Julius Thomas, and he is expected to sign a contract with the team Tuesday, according to league sources. The Denver Post, which first reported the news Monday night, said the multiyear contract is worth around $9 million a season.
A source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that Thomas continues to talk with one other team but that the money the Jaguars are offering might be too much for another team to overcome.
Thomas has caught 108 passes for 1,277 yards and 24 touchdowns the past two seasons with the Denver Broncos. The Jaguars’ tight ends have caught a combined 102 passes the past two seasons.
In another deal, the Jaguars are set to sign linebacker Dan Skuta to a five-year contract Tuesday, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Caplan.
Once the contract is signed, it is expected to be worth $20.5 million with $8 million guaranteed, the source said.
Thomas, 26, was a fourth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2011 draft, John Elway’s first as the team’s top football executive. Elway made the pick after Thomas had played just one year of college football at Portland State after finishing his eligibility on the school’s basketball team.
His first two years were largely lost to an ankle injury he suffered on his first NFL catch — against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 season — as Thomas also had surgery on the ankle in the months leading up to the 2012 season.
As a result, when he was set to enter his third year in the league, his career stats were nine games played, one catch for 5 yards and zero touchdowns in two seasons.
When the Broncos’ offense broke out to set the league’s single-season scoring record in 2013 (606 points), Thomas broke out as well with 65 catches for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns as he earned his first Pro Bowl trip. The 2014 season looked like it would be more of the same when Thomas led the league in touchdown receptions — 12 — after nine games.