| Xavier Thomas | |
| Current Team: | Arizona Cardinals |
| Number: | 54 |
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Birth Date: | December 20, 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Florence, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lb: | 244 |
| High School: | Wilson (Florence, SC) IMG Academy |
| College: | Clemson (2018–2023) |
| Draftyear: | 2024 |
| Draftround: | 5 |
| Draftpick: | 138 |
| Pastteams: |
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| Status: | Active |
| Highlights: |
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| Statseason: | 2024 |
| Statweek: | 10 |
| Statlabel1: | Tackles |
| Statvalue1: | 6 |
| Statlabel2: | Sacks |
| Statvalue2: | 2.5 |
| Statlabel3: | Forced fumbles |
| Statvalue3: | 1 |
| Statlabel4: | Fumble recoveries |
| Pfr: | T/ThomXa01 |
Xavier Thomas (born December 20, 1999) is an American professional football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers.
After playing for three years in Florence, South Carolina at Wilson High School, Thomas played his senior season at IMG Academy in Florida.[1]
After recording forty-three tackles, three and a half sacks, and two pass breakups in his freshman season, Thomas was named to USA Today's Freshman All-America Team. During the 2019 season, he earned Third Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors after posting 31 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and two sacks. Thomas contracted COVID-19 and strep throat in July 2020, and announced he would redshirt the 2020 season.[2] However, after the NCAA declared that all players could participate in the season without losing a year of eligibility, Thomas decided to play, despite missing summer workouts.[3] On October 31, 2020, Thomas was ejected for targeting Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec. He missed the first half of the following game against Notre Dame.[4]
| Season | Games | Tackles | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Solo | Sacks | |||||
| Clemson Tigers | |||||||
| 2018 | 14 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 8.5 | 3.5 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 8.0 | 1.5 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4.0 | 3.5 | |
| 2021 | 11 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 6.5 | 4.5 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | |
| 2023 | 12 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 4.0 | 3.0 | |
| Career | 57 | 116 | 62 | 54 | 33 | 18 | |
Thomas was selected in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 2024 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals.[5] He made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season against the Buffalo Bills as the Cardinals lost 34-28. In Week 2, Thomas recorded his first NFL tackle in a 41-10 win against the Los Angeles Rams. In Week 9 against the Chicago Bears, he recorded 3 tackles and 1.5 sacks (the first of his career) in a 29-9 win for the Cardinals. In Week 10, he recorded 1 tackle, 1 sack, and the first forced fumble of his career in a 31-6 win against the New York Jets.