J.T. Thomas III (born August 15, 1988) is an American former professional football linebacker. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.[1] He played college football at West Virginia.
| No. 97, 52, 55 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | August 15, 1988 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College: | West Virginia | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2011 / round: 6 / pick: 195 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Professional career
editChicago Bears
editOn July 27, 2011, the Bears signed Thomas to a 4-year contract. Thomas was eventually placed on injured reserve due to a hip problem. In the 2012 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, Thomas forced LaVon Brazill to fumble, and Kelvin Hayden recovered the loose ball.[2]
On August 31, 2013, Thomas was among the final cuts by the Bears.[3]
Jacksonville Jaguars
editThomas was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 1, 2013.[4]
New York Giants
editOn March 10, 2015, Thomas signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the New York Giants.[5][6] On December 31, 2015, Thomas was placed on injured reserve.[7]
On September 12, 2016, Thomas was placed on injured reserve after he suffered torn ligaments in his left knee in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys.[8]
On September 28, 2017, Thomas was once again placed on injured reserve after suffering a groin injury in Week 2.[9] He was released with an injury settlement on November 28, 2017.
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2012 | CHI | 16 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | JAX | 15 | 2 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | JAX | 16 | 10 | 85 | 51 | 34 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | NYG | 12 | 11 | 46 | 30 | 16 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | NYG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | NYG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | 23 | 159 | 102 | 57 | 0.5 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
Personal life
editThomas has a brother named Jared who has autism. Thomas is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and was initiated through the Nu Zeta chapter at WVU. Thomas attended Blanche Ely High School, where he was teammates with Patrick Peterson.[10]
He gained some national media attention for taking a disabled eighth grade girl in Morgantown, West Virginia to her 8th grade dance on Friday, May 20, 2011.[11][12] He received more national attention after he gave a 14-year-old boy with epilepsy tickets to Super Bowl XLVI, with Thomas also attending the game.[13]
References
edit- ^ "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (September 9, 2012). "Jennings plays takeaway in Bears victory". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ Biggs, Brad (August 31, 2013). "Bears waive LB Thomas to reach roster limit". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
- ^ Stites, Adam (September 1, 2013). "Jaguars claim LB J.T. Thomas, according to report". SB Nation. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- ^ Schefter, Adam. "Former Jaguars LB JT Thomas reached agreement with Giants". Twitter. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (March 11, 2015). "Giants sign RB Shane Vereen; announce Free Agent signings". Giants.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
- ^ Raanan, Jordan (January 1, 2016). "Giants sign 2, J.T. Thomas and Danny Aiken go on IR". NJ.com. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "Giants place LB J.T. Thomas on IR". Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- ^ Eisen, Michael (September 28, 2017). "Giants make roster moves, place J.T. Thomas on IR". Giants.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Thomas arrested in West Virginia". ChicagoBears.com. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ "Bears draft pick makes 8th-grader's day". Articles.chicagotribune.com. May 21, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ^ Wright, Michael C. (May 20, 2011). "Thomas makes fan's dream come true". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ Hill, Jemele (February 7, 2012). "Chicago Bears linebacker J.T. Thomas gives the life-changing gift of a Super Bowl - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
External links
edit
- West Virginia Mountaineers bio Archived February 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine