December 14, 2021 By: Kevin Kissner

A tribute to late Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas

Tragedy struck the NFL Thursday night when news surfaced that former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had passed away at the age of 33.

According to police reports, Thomas was found in his home unconscious and was not breathing. Once the local fire department arrived on the scene, they pronounced Thomas dead.

The four-time Pro Bowler spent nine seasons with Denver after being drafted in 2010 as the first wide receiver taken off the board.

Thomas battled injuries in his first two seasons, but had arguably the most exciting play in Broncos history when he scored his memorable 80-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime against the Steelers in the 2011 Playoffs.

In 2012, Thomas would have his breakout season after Hall of Fame inductee Peyton Manning joined the team. Thomas would go on and have five straight 1,000-yard seasons and catch at least 90 passes in each of those seasons. The Georgia Tech alum would help the Broncos get to the next level and help his team become the greatest offense in NFL history during the 2013 season as they broke every offensive single season record.

Peyton Manning also had some kind words for his former teammate in a video saying that he “never played with anyone as big and strong and powerful and as fast” at the wide receiver position. Thomas would catch some memorable touchdown passes from Manning, including his 400^th career touchdown pass and the 509^th touchdown pass placing him as the all-time touchdown leader.

After hearing about Thomas’ passing, Manning released this statement to the Broncos, “D.T. was a better person than he was a player, and he was a Hall of Fame player. That tells you how good of a person he was. He treated my kids like they were his own. He was there for every teammate’s charity event. …” Manning added, “I texted with D.T. on Tuesday. He was talking about a TD audible we called vs. Arizona in 2014. Absolutely devasted.”

During those four seasons with Manning throwing him the ball, Thomas joined an elite receiving group with Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison as the only players in NFL history to have four consecutive seasons of at least 90 receptions and 1,300 yards. There was also only one player ever to have equaled Thomas’ production over a five-year period from 2012-2016, that player was Jerry Rice. During that span, Thomas even put up a 1,600-yard season.

Thomas will retire as the Broncos second-leading receiver in yards behind only Rod Smith and third in catches behind Smith and Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. The big-time playmaking receiver also set a Super Bowl record for most catches in a Super Bowl with 13 before running back James White broke the record a few years later.

In his tenure with the Broncos, Thomas appeared in 10 playoff games going for 759 yards and six touchdowns. Thomas would help lead Denver to a Super Bowl victory in 2016.

Thomas would finish his NFL career with 9,763 receiving yards, 63 touchdowns, and 724 receptions.

After speaking to a number of players over the years and even this week talking about Thomas, you’ll never hear a bad thing about Thomas. The one word that I kept hearing was “joy.” Everybody talked about how great he was with teammates’ families and even their kids. Thomas spent holidays with certain coaches and was beloved by everyone.

It had been reported that Thomas had been suffering with health issues. It’s safe to say that heaven got another angel Thursday night.

RIP #88.