ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- It was a Thursday -- Jan. 3, 2019, to be exact.
Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, then with the Houston Texans, had just emerged from the training room. His lower left leg was encased in a boot, protecting his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.
Thomas had turned 32 on Christmas and was dealing with the second Achilles injury of his career, to go with an increasingly painful hip. But asked about his career in a now-quiet locker room, save for the droning of a vacuum cleaner down the hall, he flashed a smile, leaned his head back and sighed.