The December death of former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was caused by complications from a seizure disorder, according to the final report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, Ga.
The report, which was obtained by 9news.com in Denver, noted that Thomas had stage II CTE when he died, but the medical examiner also took care to note that there was no “direct relationship” between CTE and the seizure disorder.
Thomas, 33 years old died tragically on December 9. At the time of his death, one of his close family members told The Associated Press that Thomas was believed to have died of a seizure. Thomas had regularly faced seizures over the years and the family believed he had had a seizure while showering at his home in Roswell, Georgia.
Thomas died just 16 days before his 34th birthday. The former Broncos wide receiver spent 10 seasons in the NFL and had just retired in June 2021, just six months before his death. Thomas had a prolific career that included four Pro Bowl appearances. The catcher had such a successful career in Denver that the team honored him before a Week 3 game last season.
During his time in Denver, the Broncos made the playoffs five times, including two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl victory.
Thomas, who was a first-round pick in 2010, saw his career with the Broncos take off two years later with the arrival of Peyton Manning. In four years with Manning, Thomas topped 90 receptions and 1,300 yards each season, making him the fourth receiver in NFL history to top those doubles in four consecutive seasons (Marvin Harrison, Jerry Rice and Torry Holt are the only other three to pull it off).
Prior to Manning’s arrival, Thomas had Tim Tebow at quarterback and the two helped pull off one of the craziest postseason games of all time. In a game where the Broncos were a 7.5-point underdog, Denver was able to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard TD pass from Tebow to Thomas in overtime that sealed the victory.
During his eight and a half seasons with the Broncos, Thomas carved his name into Denver’s all-time record book. Thomas finished his Broncos career with the second-most receiving yards (9,055) and touchdowns (60) in franchise history. He also has the third most receptions in team history.