Dontarrious Dewayne Thomas (born September 2, 1980) 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

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for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft. Thomas was also a member of 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 ...

, California Redwoods, and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and Sacramento Mountain Lions.

Early life

At Perry High School in

Perry, Georgia Perry is a city in Houston County, Georgia, Houston and Peach County, Georgia, Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,60 ...

, Thomas was a three sport standout in football, basketball, and track. In football, he was a Class 2-A-All-State selection, and as a senior, had 6 interceptions, returned an interception for a touchdown, had 78 tackles (50 solo tackles, 28 assisted), and rushed for 278 yards on only 14 carries (19.9 yd. per rush avg.).

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings (first stint)

Thomas was selected by the

in the second round (48th overall) of the 2004 NFL draft. He played four seasons with the Vikings, appearing in 59 games (10 starts) and recording 143 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.

San Francisco 49ers

Thomas was originally signed No. 51 upon signing with the 49ers in 2008. When

Brandon Moore was released in August, Thomas switched to Moore's #56 while the newly signed Takeo Spikes took 51. However, on August 31, 2008, Thomas was released by the 49ers to make room for

Ahmad Brooks.

Minnesota Vikings (second stint)

Thomas was signed by the Vikings on October 13, 2008, when

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Drew Radovich was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. Thomas appeared in four games for the Vikings that season, recording one assisted tackle.

California Redwoods

Thomas signed with the California Redwoods of the United Football League in 2009 and recorded 35 tackles.

San Diego Chargers

Thomas was signed by the

on January 5, 2010, after

James Holt was placed on

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Dontarrious 1980 births Living people People from Perry, Georgia Players of American football from Houston County, Georgia American football linebackers Auburn Tigers football players Minnesota Vikings players San Francisco 49ers players Sacramento Mountain Lions players San Diego Chargers players