On the morning of May 5, 2026, Craig Morton and his wife, Kim Galloway, were busy packing, getting everything ready for their trip to Las Vegas. They were to visit Morton’s longtime friend, Bill Medley, and watch him with The Righteous Brothers in Las Vegas. It was going to be a gateway filled with music, laughter, and them reminiscing about the good old days. But they never made it there. Just moments before they set foot outside, something happened that changed the course of their lives forever.

Morton began shaking violently in distress, and Galloway, completely taken aback, called the paramedics. He was rushed to the hospital, and there the doctors diagnosed him with severe sepsis. The situation was dire because the silent, invisible monster of an infection was moving with a terrifying speed until it finally took his life just four days later. And the severity of the issue has now come to light.

According to the reports from The California Post, citing the Marin County Vital Statistics Office, Morton succumbed to acute respiratory failure due to severe sepsis due to a urinary tract infection. The infection escalated into urosepsis, spread into his lungs, and triggered pulmonary edema, which is a dangerous buildup of fluid that made breathing impossible without mechanical support.

Morton died on May 9 at MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, California, at the age of 83. Sadly though, this was not his first battle with sepsis.

With 17 active years in the NFL, Morton got hit more than 1,000 times and received 405 sacks. And that led to some . Talking to The Denver Gazette, he revealed that he was hospitalized twice in recent years. And for two months, he had to deal with sepsis. And it is not easy battling sepsis.

Patients have to endure tremors, fever, and complications depending on the area of infection. For Morton, compromised lungs made breathing without help (ventilator or bipap) impossible. Such issues break the mind along with the body. And honestly, Morton seemed to be too tired to go through it yet again. 

“He was tired of his back; he was really in a lot of pain with his back,” Galloway revealed. And he just said, ‘I give up. ‘I’m ready to go. I don’t want to do this anymore. I’ve had an amazing life. And I’m just tired.” Then came the line that perfectly captured the weight of that moment.

“I’ve never said I give up on my life.” For NFL fans, especially in Denver, those words hit hard, because Morton’s career was one that was built on resilience.

When a Hip Injury couldn’t stop Craig Morton from making Broncos history

A few days before the biggest game in Denver Broncos history, Morton was lying in a hospital bed with a painful hip injury that had threatened to keep him off the field. His hip pointer kept hemorrhaging and filled his leg with blood. Meanwhile, the doctors kept trying to drain the fluid but failed. He shouldn’t have been able to walk properly. But Morton took a different decision.

He was hurting and battered and already 34 years old, but he came back, and he led the Broncos past the Raiders and into the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl appearance. That performance of his went down in history and showed how resilience can help overcome the toughest situations. That defined both Morton and the magical 1977 season, because that year changed everything for the Broncos.

Under his leadership, Denver finished 12-2 and reached the playoff for the first time in the history of the franchise. They defeated the Steelers and Raiders on the way to Super Bowl XII. He also went on to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Year honors, Sporting News Player of the Year, PFWA Comeback Player of the Year, and NFL UPI MVP recognition. And this feat was unbelievable to some.

“Craig Morton is unbelievable,” Broncos Ring of Famer Haven Moses said after Denver’s AFC Championship victory, according to a 1978 New York Times article. “To me he’s the most valuable player in the National Football League this year.”

Morton led Denver to two division titles and three playoff berths. By his retirement, he held on to the franchise records for passing yards (11,895), touchdowns (74), attempts (1,594), and completions (907). Given his impact, he was also inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Broncos Ring of Fame in 1988 alongside Haven Moses and Jim Turner. Before he rescued the Denver franchise via a trade, he was with the Dallas Cowboys, throwing for over 10,000 yards and 80 touchdowns, followed by a brief stint with the New York Giants.