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Article in DPO this evening (I know I’m not supposed to copy/paste it, but it’s a one time sin. 
Last Tuesday, Peyton Manning received a random text from former teammate Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas asked Manning if he recalled an audible he called against the Arizona Cardinals when they played for the Broncos as the star receiver and quarterback, respectively.
Manning responded with a thumbs up emoji and wrote, “Absolutely, I remember.”
“That was sweet,” Thomas replied.
Forty-eight hours later, Manning received word Thomas had suddenly passed at his home in Roswell, Ga., at the age of 33.
“It was an incredible gift to play with him and to get to know him as a person,” Manning told The Denver Post. “Those smiles, those laughs. There was nobody quite like him.”
Before Sunday’s home game against the Detroit Lions, Manning and his kids, Marshall and Mosley, who were wearing Thomas’ orange No. 88 Broncos jersey, left a letter at a memorial set up for Thomas outside the stadium.
In the letter, Manning said he called Thomas, “the most dependable, accountable, tough, hard-working, selfless teammate you could have, not to mention the biggest, strongest, most powerful wide receiver I ever played with.”
Upon hearing about Thomas’ death, Manning said he texted and/or called former coaches John Fox and Gary Kubiak, former offensive coordinator Adam Gase and ex-teammates Eric Decker, Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders.
The way he treated (the kids) and the way he treated Ashley means more to me than any touchdown or catch over the middle he caught from me,” Manning said. “The greatest picture of him that I have is from the Super Bowl and he has Marshall in the laundry hamper pushing him around the locker room. But he was like that with everybody’s kids. That’s how he was built. That’s how he was wired.”
Thomas attended Manning’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in Canton, Ohio in August.
“He was very concerned about being able to come because of his health and I told him, ‘Don’t do it if you’re not cleared to do it,’” Manning said. “But he did get clearance from his doctor and we had a great visit. He got a bigger kick out of seeing Ashley, Marshall and Mosley.”
Thomas had completed two NFL seasons when Manning was released by Indianapolis and deciding which team to join in March 2012.
“He was a big part of why I came out here to play,” Manning said. “I obviously studied teams and did my homework and had seen what Demaryius had done his first two years. It was no different than how (Tom) Brady studied Tampa Bay and saw somebody like Mike Evans and said, ‘Hey, that’s a guy I want to go play with.’ That’s what Demaryius was for me here.
“It was exactly as I had hoped it would be; in fact, it was better.”
In Manning’s three full years with the Broncos (2012-14), Thomas had seasons of 94 catches-1,434 yards-10 touchdowns, 92-1,430-14 and 111-1,619-11. Manning’s career culminated with the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win over Carolina in February 2016.
Manning and Thomas created an instant bond because of their love of the process. They would have throwing sessions at Denver area high schools and also at Duke University in North Carolina.
“Everybody loves to play the games; he loved the work part of it,” Manning said. “That’s where we really connected.”
Thomas was on the receiving end of Manning’s first Broncos touchdown pass in the 2012 season opener vs. Pittsburgh.
“Just a nervous game for me,” Manning said. “You’re uncomfortable getting dressed, you’re seeing yourself in a different uniform and not quite sure physically how you’re going to feel getting hurt and coming off the surgeries and nerve problems. It’s a close game (trailing 13-7) and somewhere in there, I kind of felt like myself again and starting calling audibles and doing the things I did in Indianapolis.”
Late in the third quarter, Thomas was lined up wide left and Manning saw the Steelers setting up to blitz from that side. He called the audible, “Alley,” which is a receiver screen left.
Manning lofted a pass to Thomas, who received blocks from tight end Jacob Tamme and guard Zane Beadles and scored a 71-yard touchdown.
“When they’re blitzing from the left side and you throw a screen to that side, you can’t ask for a better scenario,” Manning said. “I’m thinking, ‘Get 15 yards, keep the drive going.’ But he hits it right in the alley and goes (71 yards). I remember running down the sideline saying, ‘We’re going to win this game and it’s going to be fun playing here.”
Last Tuesday, Peyton Manning received a random text from former teammate Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas asked Manning if he recalled an audible he called against the Arizona Cardinals when they played for the Broncos as the star receiver and quarterback, respectively.
Manning responded with a thumbs up emoji and wrote, “Absolutely, I remember.”
“That was sweet,” Thomas replied.
Forty-eight hours later, Manning received word Thomas had suddenly passed at his home in Roswell, Ga., at the age of 33.
“It was an incredible gift to play with him and to get to know him as a person,” Manning told The Denver Post. “Those smiles, those laughs. There was nobody quite like him.”
Before Sunday’s home game against the Detroit Lions, Manning and his kids, Marshall and Mosley, who were wearing Thomas’ orange No. 88 Broncos jersey, left a letter at a memorial set up for Thomas outside the stadium.
In the letter, Manning said he called Thomas, “the most dependable, accountable, tough, hard-working, selfless teammate you could have, not to mention the biggest, strongest, most powerful wide receiver I ever played with.”
Upon hearing about Thomas’ death, Manning said he texted and/or called former coaches John Fox and Gary Kubiak, former offensive coordinator Adam Gase and ex-teammates Eric Decker, Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders.
The way he treated (the kids) and the way he treated Ashley means more to me than any touchdown or catch over the middle he caught from me,” Manning said. “The greatest picture of him that I have is from the Super Bowl and he has Marshall in the laundry hamper pushing him around the locker room. But he was like that with everybody’s kids. That’s how he was built. That’s how he was wired.”
Thomas attended Manning’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in Canton, Ohio in August.
“He was very concerned about being able to come because of his health and I told him, ‘Don’t do it if you’re not cleared to do it,’” Manning said. “But he did get clearance from his doctor and we had a great visit. He got a bigger kick out of seeing Ashley, Marshall and Mosley.”
Thomas had completed two NFL seasons when Manning was released by Indianapolis and deciding which team to join in March 2012.
“He was a big part of why I came out here to play,” Manning said. “I obviously studied teams and did my homework and had seen what Demaryius had done his first two years. It was no different than how (Tom) Brady studied Tampa Bay and saw somebody like Mike Evans and said, ‘Hey, that’s a guy I want to go play with.’ That’s what Demaryius was for me here.
“It was exactly as I had hoped it would be; in fact, it was better.”
In Manning’s three full years with the Broncos (2012-14), Thomas had seasons of 94 catches-1,434 yards-10 touchdowns, 92-1,430-14 and 111-1,619-11. Manning’s career culminated with the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 win over Carolina in February 2016.
Manning and Thomas created an instant bond because of their love of the process. They would have throwing sessions at Denver area high schools and also at Duke University in North Carolina.
“Everybody loves to play the games; he loved the work part of it,” Manning said. “That’s where we really connected.”
Thomas was on the receiving end of Manning’s first Broncos touchdown pass in the 2012 season opener vs. Pittsburgh.
“Just a nervous game for me,” Manning said. “You’re uncomfortable getting dressed, you’re seeing yourself in a different uniform and not quite sure physically how you’re going to feel getting hurt and coming off the surgeries and nerve problems. It’s a close game (trailing 13-7) and somewhere in there, I kind of felt like myself again and starting calling audibles and doing the things I did in Indianapolis.”
Late in the third quarter, Thomas was lined up wide left and Manning saw the Steelers setting up to blitz from that side. He called the audible, “Alley,” which is a receiver screen left.
Manning lofted a pass to Thomas, who received blocks from tight end Jacob Tamme and guard Zane Beadles and scored a 71-yard touchdown.
“When they’re blitzing from the left side and you throw a screen to that side, you can’t ask for a better scenario,” Manning said. “I’m thinking, ‘Get 15 yards, keep the drive going.’ But he hits it right in the alley and goes (71 yards). I remember running down the sideline saying, ‘We’re going to win this game and it’s going to be fun playing here.”
