It has been a long offseason for the Denver Broncos and their disgruntled wide receiver Ashley Lelie. Lelie has been unhappy about his playing time and production in Denver and has been demanding a trade since the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs last January.
Now the wide receiver is not even showing up to work.
ESPN.com is reporting that Lelie has decided to skip the Broncos mandatory minicamp session on Thursday and is expected to miss the entire three-day camp as well.
On top of his role in Denver’s offense, Lelie has also been irked by the team’s trading for former Packers wide receiver Javon Walker. But with Lelie’s trade demands and his production last year, the Broncos had no choice but to trade for Walker on draft day.
A longstrider and deep threat, Lelie has 53 catches for 20 yards or more and 18 receptions of 40-plus yards in his career, but is prone to lapses in concentration and to bouts of inconsistency. Although the Broncos have attempted to deal him during the offseason, they have found no one willing to meet their asking price.
It is rumored that Lelie wants to be a number one wide receiver for a team, but who would want to make this kid their No. 1? Honestly, he has nice speed and can create separation, but what team would want to take someone who is ‘prone to lapses in concentration and to bouts of inconsistency’? And to only have one touchdown being the second WR on a team that went to the AFC Championship is behind unthinkable.
Don’t get me wrong, some team is going to trade for him if Denver’s asking price comes down, but not going to minicamp on top of an offseason of griping is just making matters worse for Lelie.
Shut your mouth, play out the rest of your contract and hope some team decides to pay you even half of what you think your worth.
