4-time Pro Bowl WR Thomas dies at 33
Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was found dead Thursday at his home in Roswell, Georgia, according to police.
Thomas was 33 years old and had announced his retirement from the NFL in June after a 10-season career with the Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Jets.
A first-round pick in 2010 out of Georgia Tech, Thomas would have turned 34 on Christmas Day.
There has been an outpouring of love for Thomas from teammates and peers since the news of his death, including former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning who said he is “absolutely devastated.”
Here is what we know so far about Thomas’ death:
Cause of death
No official cause of death for Thomas has been released by the Fulton County, Georgia medical examiner’s office and an autopsy will be performed on Friday. According to a police incident report obtained by USA TODAY Sports, officers responded to a 911 call about a cardiac arrest at Thomas’ residence just before 7 p.m. on Thursday. They were directed by the caller to a bathroom, where Thomas’ body was found in the shower. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
“The cause and manner of death are pending at this time,” the office said.
Thomas’ cousin told the Associated Press that Thomas might have died from a seizure.
“He had been suffering from seizures for over a year, and we believe he had a seizure when he was showering,” Latonya Bonseigneur told the AP. “We’re not sure when he died. We just spoke with him yesterday.”
He was alone and a friend couldn’t get hold of him, so he called his driver, who has a key because of these seizures, and he went into his home and
found him in the shower.”
What the football world is saying
Thomas’ former teammates posted heartfelt condolences after hearing of his death, including many that played with him on the Broncos
Demarcus Ware posted a photo of Thomas and himself Thursday night captioned simply “heartbroken” and former Thomas teammate and linebacker Brandon Marshall posted “Love forever bro.”
Tim Tebow, whose 80-yard touchdown pass to Thomas in overtime won a playoff game against the Steelers in 2012 said that “I’ll be remembering him for his kindness, his smile that would light up a room, and the love he had for those in his life.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning played with Thomas for four seasons and it was Thomas who caught 509th career touchdown pass, then an all-time record.
“DT was a better person than he was a player, and he was a Hall of Fame player,” Manning said on social media. “That tells you how good of a person he was.”