Demaryius Thomas hoping new diet helps him remain healthy

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has been a steady presence on the field for his entire career, but after spending two years playing hurt, he’s changing his diet in an effort to put the pain behind him.

Thomas admitted that for the last two years he has battled hip and neck issues to the point that he feared his career was coming to an end, and it seriously impacted his production.

“For, like, the past two years, for real, it’s been my neck and my hip,” Thomas told NFL.com’s James Palmer. “It was just times I couldn’t compete my best. And you know, sometimes, I remember one game we were playing the Patriots, and the corner (Logan Ryan) called it out. He said, ‘You’re not yourself.’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’m doing whatever I can to try to get attention.’

“Like, for real, with all the problems with my hip, especially with my hip, it was like, sometimes I couldn’t even stop.”

Thomas began working with a performance trainer this offseason to overhaul his diet and add vitamin D while cutting out dairy, shellfish, pork, and alcohol. Now he thinks he he has many more years left in him.

“Now I’m thinking, 15 or 16 (years),” Thomas said. “Like, for real, I’m going to be like Larry Fitzgerald. Maybe even more. It just depends, you know? I mean, s—, tomorrow I could finish my career off of one crazy injury. But yeah, my mindset has changed.”

Thomas has fiddled with his diet before, but it has never really translated into better health, leading to rumors that the Broncos are frustrated with him. His last two seasons have been the worst full campaigns of his career, so perhaps the new diet will pay off for him.