DENVER (KDVR) — This weekend, the Denver Broncos are celebrating Alumni Weekend, and during the celebrations, a sad but happy moment will take place.
The Broncos will induct former wide receiver and superstar Demaryius Thomas posthumously into the team’s Ring of Fame.
Thomas’ teammates and Super Bowl 50 winners will be honored as well.
In 2021, Thomas unexpectedly died from complications of a seizure disorder at the age of 33, and although he has passed, his legacy and dedication to the Broncos still resonate throughout the organization today.
Most of the current Broncos have never had the honor of taking to the field with Thomas, but for one former teammate, he tries to honor his legacy every week.
Current Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton joined the Broncos in 2018 and was quickly taken under the wing of Thomas. The two wouldn’t get more than a year of playing together before Thomas was traded to the Houston Texans.
During that year, Thomas gave Sutton an important job. One that would never be seen on the field.
Every Saturday, Thomas would bring donuts to the people at the Broncos facility, a job he made sure to pass on to Sutton before the trade. Sutton, to this day, still brings the donuts.
“It felt like it was one of those things that every Saturday I get a chance to call in and order donuts, it’s a small, little wink,” Sutton said on the Broncos website. “He’s always still around.”
Sutton has been looking forward to Alumni Weekend.
“D.T. means the world to me,” Sutton said. “I have been waiting for this day of him getting his recognition from this organization, because of all the things he’s done for the Broncos organization.”
Career-defining plays
To commemorate Thomas’s work on the field, the Broncos put together a list of some of the wide receiver’s best moments and plays during his outstanding Broncos career.
Cramming four games into one
In 2014, Thomas had a game for the ages.
The average total receiving yards for a starting wide receiver in a game hovers at or above 50 yards a game. Stars will see their numbers climb closer to around 80 or higher.
In a game against the Arizona Cardinals, Thomas blew that average out of the water, finishing the game with 226 yards and two touchdown passes — more than quadrupling the average of a starter and nearly tripling the average of a star.
His biggest reception that game was 86 yards.
This was also the game that sparked one of the best receiving runs in NFL history, when Thomas went seven consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards. The NFL’s all-time best record is eight.
Forever tied to Peyton Manning
Watching Thomas and quarterback Manning work together was like watching art.
Fans will always remember the image of Manning throwing a dime towards the sideline and Thomas leaping up and somehow landing and dragging those toes just before stepping out of bounds.
Their work is forever tied to the lore of the Broncos, but in another 2014 game, the two became tied together in NFL history.
Against the San Francisco 49ers, Thomas was on the receiving end of a Manning pass leading to a touchdown. Manning’s 509th, which was the NFL’s record-best at the time.
Out running overtime
Perhaps the single greatest play of his career, Thomas sealed a playoff game with an unbelievable run in a playoff game.
In the Tim Tebow days, the Broncos took on the Pittsburgh Steelers during the AFC Wild Card Playoff on Jan. 8, 2012.
Things were tied up 23-23 at the end of regulation.
What looked to be a typical slant route, 80 yards from the endzone, turned into an incredible 80-yard touchdown after Thomas caught the ball, stiff-armed Steelers’ cornerback Ike Taylor like he was his little brother, then ran the lights out of the building, securing the overtime win.
The Broncos Alumni Weekend takes place from Oct. 18 to Oct. 19.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
