Watch Peyton Manning pay tribute to Demaryius Thomas on Manningcast

Peyton Manning opened up Monday’s Manningcast with a tribute to former teammate Demaryius Thomas as well as John Madden and Dan Reeves.

Several weeks ago, the NFL world mourned the loss of wide receiver Demaryius Thomas after his unexpected death at just 33 years old.

Former teammates, current players and fans from across the world poured out their love for the Broncos legend (who also played for several other teams), not just because of how great he was on the field, but also because of the type of person he was off of it.

On Monday night, though, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning returned after a lengthy hiatus for Monday Night Football and, at the beginning of the broadcast, the former Broncos quarterback who spent several seasons as Thomas’ teammate paid a beautiful tribute to his friend.

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Peyton Manning remembers teammate, friend Demaryius Thomas

It’s clear Manning was quite emotional talking about the loss of Thomas. His voice broke several times during the tribute and he was looking for the proper words to remember a “special” human being.

Though it comes weeks after the outpouring of love for Thomas — of which Manning was a part of — in the immediate aftermath of the wide receiver’s death, it was a touching memory of the Broncos legend that echoed everything we heard.

It was already clear that the NFL and world lost a special person in addition to a phenomenal player when Thomas passed away unexpectedly. Manning’s emotion and tribute to his former teammate further shows that.