^^ Yeah, I also think that fact had a lot to do with it. As Hellteam said, he leads our team in statistics already, plus has the pressure of goalkicking too. Captaincy would make his job even tougher.
That being said, I do think he would have handled it well. And I don't think Sam is a bad choice.
Do you guys think Thaiday will keep the captaincy for the rest of his career, or will one of the younger guns (Glenn, McCullough) step up and take it from him while Thaiday is still playing. I know the Broncos don't strip players of their captaincy, but in my opinion, it will be interesting.