The cause of death for former NFL wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has been confirmed. According to an autopsy report from the Fulton County, Georgia, Medical Examiner’s office, per ESPN, Thomas died from “complications of a seizure disorder.” Thomas was found dead in his home in Roswell, Georgia on Dec. 9, 2021, and an autopsy was performed the following day. He was 33 years old.
In the report, the medical examiner said the manner of Thomas’ death is undetermined, and it was unknown if the seizure disorder was the result of natural causes or the blows to the head Thomas took during his football career. In December, the medical examiner said, “the cause and manner of death are pending the completion of laboratory studies and microscopic tissue samples.” Last month, Thomas’ parents appeared on Good Morning America and revealed Thomas died due to a seizure disorder that led to cardiac arrest. They also revealed the former Denver Broncos wide receiver suffered from Stage 2 CTE, which can only be diagnosed after death.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“We found what we’ve seen in so many other players under the age of 34,” Dr. Ann McKee, the director of Neuropathology Core at Boston University, said of what they saw in Thomas’ brain, per Good Morning America. “On the basis of multiple lesions in the frontal lobes and temporal lobe are beginning degeneration of deeper areas of the brain. He was diagnosed with CTE. Stage two.”
Thomas was selected by the Broncs at No. 22 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played for the Broncos for nearly nine seasons before being traded to the Houston Texans to finish out the 2018 season. In 2019, Thomas signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots but never played a regular season game for them because he was traded to the New York Jets as the 2019 season began. Thomas played 11 games for the Jets before announcing his retirement in June 2021. He finished his NFL career with 724 receptions, 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns. Thomas was selected to the Pro Bowl four times, the All-Pro Second Team twice and helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in 2015. He played college football at Georgia Tech was he was a First-Team All-ACC Selection in 2009.
