J.T. Thomas III (born August 15, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the sixth round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Professional career

Chicago Bears

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 The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, Thomas forced

LaVon Brazill LaVon Brazill (born March 15, 1989) is an American former professional gridiron football, football player who was a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio Bobcats ...

to fumble, and

Kelvin Hayden Kelvin Darnell Hayden Jr. (born July 23, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Indi ...

recovered the loose ball. On August 31, 2013, Thomas was among the final cuts by the Bears.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Thomas was claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

on September 1, 2013.

New York Giants

On March 10, 2015, Thomas signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. On December 31, 2015, Thomas was placed on injured reserve. 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 The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. On September 28, 2017, Thomas was once again placed on injured reserve after suffering a groin injury in Week 2. He was released with an injury settlement on November 28, 2017.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Thomas has a brother named Jared who has

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. Thomas is a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity and was initiated through the Nu Zeta chapter at WVU. Thomas attended

Blanche Ely High School Blanche Ely High School is a high school located in Pompano Beach, Broward County, Florida. The school is named for Blanche Ely, former principal and social activist. In addition to Pompano Beach, Ely serves a portion of Deerfield Beach and a ...

, where he was teammates with

Patrick Peterson Patrick De'mon Peterson Jr. ( Johnson; born July 11, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he wo ...

. He gained some national media attention for taking a disabled eighth grade girl in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

to her 8th grade dance on Friday, May 20, 2011. He received more national attention after he gave a 14-year-old boy with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

tickets to

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, with Thomas also attending the game.

References

External links

West Virginia Mountaineers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, J. T. 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Blanche Ely High School alumni American football linebackers West Virginia Mountaineers football players Chicago Bears players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players