Great sadness in the NFL. The former wide receiver and long-time star of the Denver Broncos, Demaryius Thomas, was found dead in his home. Speculation is being made about the background.

Munich – The NFL is in shock. Former NFL player Demaryius Thomas died completely unexpectedly on Thursday at the age of only 33.

The former wide receiver was found dead in his home in Georgia. According to the police report, he died of a “medical problem”. However, the exact cause of death is not yet known. Thomas would have turned 34 on Christmas Day.

+++ Update Dec 10, 3:50pm: Family has guess on cause of death +++

There are still no firm findings on the background of Demaryius Thomas’ death. The police only announced in a statement that a “medical problem” had initially been assumed and that there was no reason to doubt this.

As “Totalsports” reported with reference to the agency “Associated Press”, a cousin of the former NFL pro spoke of the fact that he had been suffering from seizures for over a year.

“He was home alone and a friend could not reach him. So the called his chauffeur, who has a front door key because of the seizures. They then went to the house and found him in the shower,” LaTonya Bonseigneur is quoted as saying. They would not know the exact time of death; the last time they had contact with Thomas was on Wednesday.

Broncos insider Benjamin Allbright, who works for Denver-based radio station “KOA”, also pointed out that the death was due to consequential damage from a car accident in 2019.

At the time, Thomas had lost control of his vehicle, which overturned several times. Like his two passengers, the wide receiver was taken to hospital, but all three are said to have suffered only minor injuries. Instead of the permitted 50 km/h, the car had been travelling at more than 110 km/h when the accident occurred.

Thomas was given a suspended sentence and had to do 50 hours of community service. He also had to pay a fine.

Demaryius Thomas died

The pass receiver was drafted in the 1st round at 22 overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2010 NFL Draft. After slight early struggles, he developed into one of the NFL’s most effective wide receivers beginning in his third NFL season, posting more than 1,000 receiving yards in five straight seasons.

His bests: In the 2013 season he caught 14 touchdown passes, one season later he recorded a total of 1619 receiving yards. He has been to the Pro Bowl four times and won the Super Bowl once with the Broncos.

In October 2018, he was traded to the Houston Texans. In 2019, he spent his final active season with the New York Jets, having also previously signed with the New England Patriots.