DENVER — When mom, dad and coach Kubiak pulled the drape that revealed the Broncos’ Ring of Fame pillar with Demaryius Thomas’ bronze face upon it, there was loud applause but there were also so many hands raised up to wipe off tears from cheekbones.

“It’s been such a wonderful weekend, the Broncos were amazing with how they treated us,’’ said Katina Smith, Demaryius’ mom, said in a brief quiet moment not far from her son’s pillar. “But I am sad. I wish he were to be with all his teammates and fans because he loved all of them.”

Thomas died unexpectedly from seizure complications at his Georgia home on Dec. 9, 2021, just 16 days before his 34th birthday. He was inducted into the Broncos’ Ring of Fame on the first ballot, five years after he last played. He stands as the No. 2 receiver in

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