Robert Thomas (linebacker)
Encyclopedia
Robert Wayne Thomas is an American football
linebacker
who is a free agent
. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams
31st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at UCLA
.
Thomas has also played for the Green Bay Packers
, Oakland Raiders
, and Washington Redskins
. He is the younger brother of former NFL offensive tackle Stan Thomas
.
and was a History
Major
and a letterman in football
.
In 1998 Thomas was a reserve inside linebacker making 26 tackles (two for losses), and playing in all 12 games. The next season Thomas was a starter, he had 68 tackles despite missing three games. As a junior, in 2000, he was named UCLA’s Defensive Most Valuable Player and was a Second-team All-Pacific-10 after leading the team with 88 tackles (9 for losses) and forced six fumbles. As a senior in 2001, Thomas led the Bruins with 111 (26 for a loss) tackles and had 6.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and defensed 5 passes. He was an All-American
, All-Pac 10 and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
31st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft
. On July 22, 2002, Thomas signed a five-year $5.75 million contract with the Rams. Thomas started 30 games during his three seasons in St. Louis while totaling 163 tackles in those games.
at the end of training camp on September 4, 2005, for cornerback Chris Johnson
. Thomas started nine games at weak-side linebacker in 2005. On May 2, 2006, the Packers released Thomas.
, and he played in all 16 games in 2006, with no starts. On February 24, 2007, the Raiders re-signed Thomas, who was eligible to be a free agent. The deal included $1.5 million signing bonus and a $1.5 million salary for 2007 and $2 million in salary in 2008. He started 10 games for the Raiders in 2007 but appeared in just two in 2008 before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons
on November 2, 2008.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
who is a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
31st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
.
Thomas has also played for the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. He is the younger brother of former NFL offensive tackle Stan Thomas
Stan Thomas
Stan Thomas is a former professional American football player who played offensive tackle in the NFL for 4 seasons for the Chicago Bears and Houston Oilers from 1991 to 1994.-References:...
.
Early years
Thomas graduated from Imperial High School in the Imperial Valley. His coach, Mike Swearingen, saw he had potential to make it in the NFL and played an integral role in making Thomas' name known to a good number of colleges.College career
Thomas attended UCLAUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and was a History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
Major
Academic major
In the United States and Canada, an academic major or major concentration is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits....
and a letterman in football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
.
In 1998 Thomas was a reserve inside linebacker making 26 tackles (two for losses), and playing in all 12 games. The next season Thomas was a starter, he had 68 tackles despite missing three games. As a junior, in 2000, he was named UCLA’s Defensive Most Valuable Player and was a Second-team All-Pacific-10 after leading the team with 88 tackles (9 for losses) and forced six fumbles. As a senior in 2001, Thomas led the Bruins with 111 (26 for a loss) tackles and had 6.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and defensed 5 passes. He was an All-American
2001 College Football All-America Team
The 2001 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, Football News and Sports IllustratedThe...
, All-Pac 10 and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
Awards and honors
- Second-team All-Pac-10 (2000)
- Butkus AwardDick Butkus AwardThe Butkus Award, instituted in 1985, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football...
semifinalist (2000) - First-team All-Pac-10 (2001)
- Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (2001)
- Consensus First-team All-AmericaAll-AmericaAn All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n (2001) - Butkus Award finalist (2001)
- Lombardi AwardLombardi AwardThe Rotary Lombardi Award is awarded annually to the best college football lineman or linebacker. The Lombardi Award program was approved by the Rotary Club in Houston in 1970 shortly after the death of Vince Lombardi. The committee outlined the criteria for eligibility for the award, which...
semifinalist (2001)
Pre-draft
| Pre-draft measureables | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash 40 yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time in the 40 can have a heavy impact on his prospects in college or professional football... |
10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20 ss 20 yard shuttle The 20-yard shuttle, also simply called the short shuttle, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
3-cone 3 cone drill The 3 cone drill, or three cone drill, is a test performed by American football athletes at the NFL combine. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting... |
Vert Vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of raising one's center of gravity higher in the vertical plane solely with the use of one's own muscles; it is a measure of how high an individual or athlete can elevate off the ground from a standstill.-Types of vertical jump:The vertical jump is... |
Broad | BP Bench press The bench press is an exercise of the upper body. For bodybuilding purposes, it is used to stimulate the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps. While on his or her back, the person performing the bench press lowers a weight to the level of the chest, then pushes it back up until the arm is straight... |
Wonderlic | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-0 * | 229 * | 4.51 * | 1.57 * | 2.58 * | 4.10 * | 7.21 * | 34" | 9'08" | 21* | X | |||||||||
| * represents NFL Combine NFL Combine The National Invitational Camp or NFL Scouting Combine, as it is more widely known, is a week-long showcase, occurring every February in Indianapolis, Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium , where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general... |
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St. Louis Rams
He was drafted by the St. Louis RamsSt. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
31st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft took place April 20–21, 2002 at the theater at...
. On July 22, 2002, Thomas signed a five-year $5.75 million contract with the Rams. Thomas started 30 games during his three seasons in St. Louis while totaling 163 tackles in those games.
Green Bay Packers
St. Louis traded Thomas to the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
at the end of training camp on September 4, 2005, for cornerback Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson (cornerback)
Christopher Mario Johnson is an American football cornerback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. Johnson previously played for the St...
. Thomas started nine games at weak-side linebacker in 2005. On May 2, 2006, the Packers released Thomas.
Oakland Raiders
On August 24, 2006 Thomas signed with Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and he played in all 16 games in 2006, with no starts. On February 24, 2007, the Raiders re-signed Thomas, who was eligible to be a free agent. The deal included $1.5 million signing bonus and a $1.5 million salary for 2007 and $2 million in salary in 2008. He started 10 games for the Raiders in 2007 but appeared in just two in 2008 before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on November 2, 2008.