Before their game Sunday against the Detroit Lions, the Denver Broncos honored the late former receiver Demaryius Thomas, who died Thursday night at his home in suburban Atlanta. Thomas was 33.
The Broncos held a moment of silence and played a video tribute that lasted 1:17 and showed Thomas' highlights from his time with the team. Once the Denver offense took the field to start the game, the team lined up with 10 players and took a delay of game, which Detroit declined.
Broncos players wore a decal with the No. 88 on them in honor of Thomas' jersey number. The same image used for the decal was also painted on a patch of the field on the sideline.
Additionally, the Broncos set up a memorial outside of Empower Field at Mile High that featured Thomas' No. 88 jersey with the team, a ceremonial wreath and a video board with a picture of Thomas. The team asked fans who were interested to stop by the memorial to pay their respects. Prior to the game, an artist also painted a portrait right by the memorial.
MORE: Who was Demaryius Thomas? Super Bowl winning receiver starred for Broncos, made five Pro Bowls
MORE: What we know about the death of former NFL star Demaryius Thomas
Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who alongside Thomas put up record-breaking numbers from 2012-15, stopped by the memorial before the game with his children to honor Thomas.
Thomas was also honored prior to the game between the New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets, for whom he played in 2019, the last season of his 10-year career. At MetLife Stadium, the Jets honored Thomas with a pre-game moment of silence while they broadcast an image of him on the video board.
Thomas played eight and a half seasons for the Broncos and became a fan favorite for his athleticism and physicality at the position.
Thomas was found in his home in Roswell, Georgia, on Thursday evening, the city's police department confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
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.
"Preliminary information is that his death stems from a medical issue, and our investigators currently have no reason to believe otherwise," the police spokesperson, Tim Lupo, wrote in an email to USA TODAY Sports early Friday morning.
Thomas' cousin, LaTonya Bonseigneur, told The Associated Press that the belief within the family is that Thomas 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,” Bonseigneur told the AP.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Thomas also latched on later in his career with the Texans and Patriots — for whom he spent the 2019 training camp and preseason before signing with the Jets. He was a member of the Denver team that won Super Bowl 50.
In his career, Thomas caught 724 passes for 9,763 yards with 63 touchdowns. He announced his retirement in June of this year.
Contributing: Tom Schad and Scooby Axson
