Demaryius Thomas had major impact on teammates, coaches and their families

Following the news of the passing of former Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas, many of his former teammates and coaches spoke out about the former first-round pick.

Rest In Peace Demaryius Thomas, the former Denver Broncos wide receiver who led the team in receiving yards in six of his ten seasons with the team. Rest In Peace to Thomas himself, not just as the football player he was to a lot of people, but to the man he was. There are no words that could truly do this article justice. It’s just been extremely sad since news broke of Thomas’ passing.

Naturally, when a high-profile person or player has passed away, many of their coaches and teammates, as well as fans, speak out about the player. That’s exactly what happened here.

Take this, for instance, from Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, who played with Thomas from 2012-2015.

"“D.T. was a better person than he was a player, and he was a Hall of Fame player. . . . He treated my kids like they were his own. He was there for every teammate’s charity event.”— Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning speaking on former wide receiver Demaryius Thomas."

Speaking of the impact Thomas had on kids, Broncos safety Justin Simmons tweeted that he will be donating $88 for every tackle the Broncos make on Sunday against the Lions, to the Boys and Girls club.

The wild thing about death is that you never truly know when it’s your or someone else’s time. Manning said that the two shared texts about an audible they called against the Arizona Cardinals during the 2014 season. That exchange happened on Tuesday of this week. Unreal.

Thomas was traded to the Houston Texans in 2018, the second and final year of former head coach Vance Joseph’s tenure with the team. Joseph, now the defensive coordinator for the Cardinals, spoke about Thomas in a heartwarming way.

Everybody should remember the historic overtime throw from Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas in the 2011 playoffs, right? Speaking of that play, Tebow put out a tweet as well on Friday morning regarding the passing of his fellow first-round teammate from the 2010 NFL Draft:

I wish that I had the opportunity to meet Demaryius Thomas. Personally, I attended several training camps in which he was a part of. While I never did meet him, I have this picture from 2016. It’s hard to really explain the significance for me of this picture, but I think that it just was a cool capture.

At the 2021 Hall of Fame ceremony, Thomas seemed to be very happy and outgoing. His death is just another thing that, like I said earlier, was not expected whatsoever.

Even players who played with Thomas for just a short period of time spoke about him following the news. This from former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady:

The Broncos will have a moment of silence this Sunday against the Detroit Lions, mourning the loss of Thomas. They will also have decals on the back of their helmets with the number 88.

Demaryius Thomas needs to be placed in the Broncos Ring of Fame when he is eligible. Hopefully, he will get strong consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.

Lastly, I would like to share an article by fellow Predominantly Orange writer Cameron Parker regarding Thomas. Check it out here.

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Rest in Peace, Demaryius Thomas. Rest in Orange and Blue. You will be missed.