| David Thornton | |
| Current Team: | Indianapolis Colts |
| Position: | Director of player engagement |
| Birth Date: | 1 November 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Goldsboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lbs: | 225 |
| High School: | Goldsboro |
| College: | North Carolina |
| Draftyear: | 2002 |
| Draftround: | 4 |
| Draftpick: | 106 |
| Pastteams: |
|
| Highlights: | |
| Pastexecutive: |
|
| Statlabel1: | Total tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 736 |
| Statlabel2: | Sacks |
| Statvalue2: | 5.0 |
| Statlabel3: | Forced fumbles |
| Statvalue3: | 10 |
| Statlabel4: | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue4: | 1 |
| Statlabel5: | Interceptions |
| Statvalue5: | 5 |
| Pfr: | ThorDa20 |
David Dontay Thornton (born November 1, 1978) is a former linebacker who played for the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). In 2012, Thornton joined the Colts as the director of player engagement.
Thornton played college football at the University of North Carolina where he was teammates with Julius Peppers, and Ryan Sims. Originally a walk-on, Thornton's play eventually earned him a scholarship. In his senior year, Thornton was named second-team All-ACC and team MVP.
Thornton was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL draft.[1] Thornton best season came in 2003 when he led the Colts with 145 tackles and made two interceptions. In the 2005 season Thornton made 83 tackles and two quarterback sacks.
He became an unrestricted free agent and signed a five-year deal with the Titans on March 13, 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060507182040/http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/TEN/9305226. After missing the 2010 season due to a hip injury, he retired on August 5, 2011.[2]
| Regular season | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||||
| IND | 15 | 0 | 45 | 36 | 9 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| IND | 16 | 16 | 145 | 112 | 33 | 1.0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| IND | 16 | 15 | 94 | 71 | 23 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| IND | 16 | 16 | 83 | 61 | 22 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEN | 16 | 13 | 109 | 87 | 22 | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEN | 16 | 16 | 122 | 93 | 29 | 1.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| TEN | 15 | 15 | 78 | 60 | 18 | 0.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEN | 11 | 11 | 60 | 46 | 14 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEN | Did not play due to injury | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career | 121 | 102 | 736 | 566 | 170 | 5.0 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | |||||
In 2012, he became the director of player engagement with the Colts. In 2023, he was promoted to Vice President of Player Engagement with the Colts.[3]