Demaryius Thomas Dismisses Idea of Retirement After Injury: 'I Can Still Play'

Houston Texans wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is 31 years old and suffered a torn Achilles that cut short his 2018 campaign, but he is not looking to retire this offseason.

"My main priority right now is getting back healthy," he said, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. "I can still play, man. I'm not thinking about retirement. I just don't know where it will be."

Thomas said he would "love" to end his career as a member of the Texans, although Wilson noted a contract set to pay him a nonguaranteed $14 million in base salary in 2019 would surely need to be changed with DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller V and Keke Coutee already slotted in at wide receiver.

Houston traded for Thomas in October in part for injury insurance after it lost Fuller to a season-ending torn ACL. The former Denver Broncos playmaker appeared in seven games for the Texans and tallied 23 catches for 275 yards and two scores, solid numbers but a far cry from his prime production in Denver.

Thomas is a four-time Pro Bowler who won a Super Bowl with the Broncos. He surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in five straight seasons (2012-16) and had double-digit touchdown receptions in three of those years.

While Thomas provides veteran leadership and playoff experience to the Texans locker room, he was unable to play in Saturday's AFC Wild Card Game loss to the Indianapolis Colts and would be asked to crack a crowded receiver rotation coming off a serious injury in 2019.

It is a tall task, but the Georgia Tech product is not ready to hang up his cleats and hopes to return to the AFC South champions in 2019 even if he isn't the primary receiver he was in Denver.