Michael Chase Thomas (born June 10, 1989) 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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 ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

. He was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as an undrafted free agent.

Early life

Thomas attended Walton High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. Thomas was ranked as the 26th prospect from the state of Georgia and was the 27th prospect at the outside linebacker position by Rivals.com. Thomas was also named to the All-Southeast Region for the Class of 2008 by PrepStar. He played in the Under Armour All-America Game after his senior season in high school. Thomas earned first-team all-state honors and was named the Cobb County Defensive Player of the Year following his outstanding Junior season with 82 tackles, 10 sacks and a fumble recovery.

College career

Thomas was named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' in 2011 after recording 51 tackles and 8.5 sacks.

Professional career

2013 NFL Combine

New Orleans Saints

On April 27, 2013, Thomas was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

. On August 19, 2013, he was waived by the Saints.

Oakland Raiders

On August 20, 2013, the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

claimed Chase Thomas off waivers from the Saints. On August, 31st he was waived by the Raiders.

Atlanta Falcons

He was signed to the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

practice squad on September 17, 2013.

San Francisco 49ers

He signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

on May 27, 2014. Thomas was on the 53-member roster for weeks 10, 11, 12 and 16.

References

External links

Stanford Cardinal bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Chase 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Marietta, Georgia American football defensive ends American football linebackers Stanford Cardinal football players New Orleans Saints players Oakland Raiders players Atlanta Falcons players San Francisco 49ers players Green Bay Packers players