When former wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders announced his retirement three weeks ago, he held a press conference at the UCHealth Training Center to retire as a Denver Bronco.
As part of the retirement announcement, the Broncos posted several photos of Sanders at the facility, including one of him and late teammate Demaryius Thomas from Super Bowl 50. Sanders was asked about the photo during his press conference.
“It means a lot,” Sanders said. “That guy has helped me out so much. Just great memories. One of my fondest memories is being on the practice field and just hearing his laugh. Peyton [Manning] took my game to another level, and Demaryius [Thomas] took my game to another level, too. He didn’t say much, but he would walk up to you real quiet and tell you little stuff that he would see. Then just the friendship — it was always there. I knew that I could call him at two in the morning, three in the morning. If I had anything, he was going to pick up and be there for me. That picture right there just goes to show that. I can’t talk about it enough.
“When we were here in 2014 — there are only three receivers in the history of the NFL, that’s ever gone over 3,000 yards together. That just goes to show what type of bond we had, what type of friendship we had, what type of relationship we had. Only three receivers in the entire history of NFL to go 3,000 yards — that’s a bond that is unbreakable. That’s two brothers coming together trying to do some special, and then the following year we were able to win the Super Bowl. The energy that me and him had was unmatched and it goes to show. The stats will tell you that.”
Thomas died last December at age 33 from seizure complications. Thomas was posthumously diagnosed with stage 2 of CTE in July.
Sanders honored Thomas during the playoffs last year, and Peyton Manning created two scholarships in Thomas’ honor. The late receiver will always be loved by his former teammates and by Broncos fans.
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