| J. T. Thomas | |
| Number: | 97, 52, 55 |
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Birth Date: | August 15, 1988 |
| Birth Place: | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lbs: | 236 |
| High School: | Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Florida) |
| College: | West Virginia |
| Draftyear: | 2011 |
| Draftround: | 6 |
| Draftpick: | 195 |
| Pastteams: |
|
| Statlabel1: | Total tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 159 |
| Statlabel2: | Forced fumbles |
| Statvalue2: | 4 |
| Statlabel3: | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue3: | 1 |
| Statlabel4: | Interceptions |
| Statvalue4: | 2 |
| Statlabel5: | Defensive touchdowns |
| Statvalue5: | 1 |
| Pfr: | ThomJ.02 |
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.
On 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]
Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 1, 2013.[4]
On 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.
| 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 | |||
| CHI | 16 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| JAX | 15 | 2 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| JAX | 16 | 10 | 85 | 51 | 34 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| NYG | 12 | 11 | 46 | 30 | 16 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NYG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 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 | |||
Thomas 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]