John Elway confirmed Thursday the team will franchise-tag Demaryius Thomas if it can’t reach a long-term deal before the March 2 deadline.

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Since Manning’s arrival in Denver in 2012, Thomas has caught 297 passes for 4,483 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Eric Decker left the Broncos last season to sign with the Jets and hoped to lure Thomas to the east coast, but Elway clearly wants to take another shot at the Super Bowl with Manning’s career window closing.