Josh Thomas (cornerback)
_2012.jpg) Thomas with the Carolina Panthers in 2012 | |||||||||
| No. 26 Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||
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| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | May 3, 1989 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Cedar Hill, Texas | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Cedar Hill (TX) | ||||||||
| College: | Buffalo | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2011 / Round: 5 / Pick: 143 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2015 | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
Josh Thomas (born May 3, 1989) is an American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University at Buffalo. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round, 143rd overall of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Early years
Born in Cedar Hill, Texas, Thomas attended Cedar Hill High School before accepting a scholarship from the University at Buffalo. Thomas volunteered to play free safety because the team had a surplus of cornerbacks. He played well, recording 109 tackles and 3 interceptions, but did not attract the high-level recruiting attention that coach Joey McGuire thought he deserved. Then, Buffalo coach Turner Gill, of Fort Worth, Texas, convinced him to head north.
Thomas also starred in track & field at Cedar, where he competed in hurdles and relays. As a junior in 2006, he posted a personal-best time of 37.19 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles at the UIL T&F Championships.[1] At the 2007 District Meet, he placed 3rd in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.47 seconds, 2nd in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 37.33 seconds and ran the second leg on the 4x400m relay squad, helping Cedar win the event with a time of 3:14.81.[2]
College career
Thomas played for the Buffalo Bulls football team from 2007 to 2010. He appeared in 47 games, starting 34 of them. He amassed 205 tackles, two sacks, five forced fumbles (two recoveries), two interceptions and 27 passes defensed.
Thomas started four games as a true freshman and registered 45 tackles, 4 passes defensed and one interception.
As a sophomore, Thomas played in 12 games with eight starts. He finished second on the team with six passes defensed and recorded 57 tackles and three forced fumbles.
As a junior in 2009, Thomas had 10 starts, recorded 45 tackles and ranked second on the team with 9 passes defensed.
In his last year at Buffalo, Thomas was the team's top cornerback, mainly covering the opposing teams' top wide receiver; he posted 12 starts, 58 tackles, 8 passes defensed, one interception and 2 sacks.
Professional career
Pre-draft
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in | 191 lb | 4.43 s | 1.59 s | 2.53 s | 4.15 s | 6.89 s | 40 in | 10 ft 8 in | 13 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine and Pro Day[3] | |||||||||||||||||||
At his Pro Day, Thomas (5-foot-10 5/8, 192 pounds) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, had a 40-inch vertical jump and a 10-8 broad jump, ran a 6.89 3-cone drill, and stood on his short shuttle time and bench-press repetitions.
Dallas Cowboys (first stint)
Thomas was selected in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.[4] Since 1969, Ed Ellis (125th pick in 1997) and Khalil Mack (5th pick in 2014) remain the only other Buffalo players selected sooner. He was waived on September 3.
Carolina Panthers
He was claimed off the waivers by the Carolina Panthers on September 4, 2011 after being waived by Dallas in the final roster cutdown.[5] In 2012, he started the last 4 games, registered 24 tackles, 7 passes defensed (second on the team) an 7 special teams tackles.
In 2013, he played in 13 games (6 starts and 3 inactive) as part of a defensive unit that ranked second in the league in points allowed and total defense. He finished with 28 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 4 special teams tackles and one interception. He was released on August 30, 2014.[6]
Seattle Seahawks
On September 8, 2014, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks to replace Jeremy Lane who was placed on the injured reserve list.[7] He was cut on October 8, after playing in three games.[8]
New York Jets
Thomas signed with the New York Jets on October 13, 2014. He provided depth after the team placed cornerback Dee Milliner on the injured reserve list.[9] Thomas was released on December 16, days after his car was broken into and, by his estimate, nearly $12,000 worth of items were stolen.[10][11] According to Thomas, the Jets told him that part of the reason that he was released was because he did not "engage" enough with his teammates.[11]
Detroit Lions
The day after his release from the Jets, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions on December 17, 2014. In his brief stint with the Lions, Thomas earned $75,882 while appearing in only one game and failing to record any statistics.[12]
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings signed Thomas on July 24, 2015, following the news that cornerback Jabari Price would be suspended for two games to start the season.[13] He was released on September 5.
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts signed Thomas on September 22, 2015. He was cut on December 8.
Dallas Cowboys (second stint)
On December 30, 2015, because of injuries to cornerback Morris Claiborne and safety Barry Church, the Dallas Cowboys signed him to play in the last game of the season against the Washington Redskins.
References
- ↑ http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/17680#.VbLgsbPtmko
- ↑ http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/24224/results/45566
- ↑ http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=77279&draftyear=2011&genpos=CB
- ↑ http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/article357560.ece
- ↑ Yasinskas, Pat. "Panthers clean up waiver wire". ESPN.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/08/30/panthers-cut-wr-tavarres-king-og-chris-scott-cb-josh-thomas-to-trim-roster-to/
- ↑ http://blogs.seattletimes.com/seahawks/2014/09/08/seahawks-sign-cornerback-josh-thomas-to-53-man-roster/
- ↑ Condotta, Bob. "Seahawks sign center Patrick Lewis, waive CB Josh Thomas". Seattle Times. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ↑ Lange, Randy (October 13, 2014). "Brian Winters Joins Dee Milliner on IR". New York Jets. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
- ↑ Cosentino, Dom (December 16, 2014). "Jets release cornerback Josh Thomas, whose playbook was stolen". NJ.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- 1 2 Rothstein, Josh (December 18, 2014). "Josh Thomas: Jets didn't engage". ESPN. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ↑ Rothstein, Michael (March 4, 2015). "Meet the Detroit Lions free agents: CB Josh Thomas". ESPN. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ↑ Vensel, Matt (July 24, 2015). "Vikings sign CB Josh Thomas". Star Tribune. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com • ESPN • Pro-Football-Reference
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