Josh Thomas (born May 3, 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He was selected by 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 ...

in the fifth 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 ...

at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

Early life

Born in

Cedar Hill, Texas Cedar Hill is a city in Dallas and Ellis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located approximately southwest of downtown Dallas and is situated along the eastern shore of Joe Pool Lake and Cedar Hill State Park. Per the 2020 United St ...

, Thomas attended

Cedar Hill High School Cedar Hill High School (CHHS) is a comprehensive public high school located in the city of Cedar Hill, Texas (USA) in Dallas County and is classified as a 6A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Cedar Hill Independent School District locat ...

before accepting a scholarship from the

. Thomas volunteered to play

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

because the team had a surplus of cornerbacks. He played well, recording 109

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and 3

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

, but did not attract the high-level recruiting attention that coach Joey McGuire thought he deserved. Then, Buffalo coach

Turner Gill Turner Hillery Gill (born August 13, 1962) is an American college athletic administrator and former football player and coach. He is the Executive Director of Student-Athlete and Staff Development at the University of Arkansas, a position he as ...

, of

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, convinced him to head north. Thomas also starred in

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

at Cedar, where he competed in hurdles and relays. As a junior in 2006, he posted a personal-best time of 37.19 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles at the UIL T&F Championships. At the 2007 District Meet, he placed 3rd in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.47 seconds, 2nd in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 37.33 seconds and ran the second leg on the 4 × 400 m relay squad, helping Cedar win the event with a time of 3:14.81.

College career

Thomas played for the

Buffalo Bulls football The Buffalo Bulls football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University at Buffalo located in the U.S. state of New York. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a membe ...

team from 2007 to 2010. He appeared in 47 games, starting 34 of them. He amassed 205

, two sacks, five forced fumbles (two recoveries), two

and 27 passes defended. Thomas started four games as a true freshman and registered 45 tackles, 4 passes defended and one interception. As a sophomore, Thomas played in 12 games with eight starts. He finished second on the team with six passes defended and recorded 57 tackles and three forced fumbles. As a junior in 2009, Thomas had 10 starts, recorded 45 tackles and ranked second on the team with 9 passes defended. In his last year at Buffalo, Thomas was the team's top

, mainly covering the opposing teams' top wide receiver; he posted 12 starts, 58 tackles, 8 passes defended, one interception and 2 sacks.

Professional career

Pre-draft

At his

Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, Thomas (5-foot-10 5/8, 192 pounds) ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 4.43 seconds, had a 40-inch

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

and a 10-8

broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, ran a 6.89 3-cone drill, and stood on his short shuttle time and bench-press repetitions.

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Thomas was selected in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the

by the

. Since

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, Ed Ellis (125th pick in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

) and Khalil Mack (5th pick in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) remain the only other Buffalo players selected sooner. He was waived on September 3.

Carolina Panthers

On September 4,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he was claimed off the waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, he started the last 4 games, registered 24 tackles, 7 passes defended (second on the team) and 7

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. On the third play of a game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

on November 24,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Thomas intercepted a pass from

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, playing wide receiver until his junior year, and was selected eighth overall by the Miami Dol ...

which was intended for Rishard Matthews. It would be the only interception of his professional career. In

, he played in 13 games (6 starts and 3 inactive) as part of a defensive unit that ranked second in the league in points allowed and total defense. He finished with 28 tackles, 2 passes defended, 4

tackles and one interception. He was released on August 30,

Seattle Seahawks

On September 8,

, he signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

to replace

Jeremy Lane Jeremy Rashaad Lane (born July 14, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football at Northwestern State University of Louisiana and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2012 N ...

who was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 t ...

. He was cut on October 8, after playing in three games to make room for center Patrick Lewis.

New York Jets

Thomas signed with the

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

on October 13,

. He provided depth after the team placed cornerback Dee Milliner on the

. Thomas was released on December 16, days after his car was broken into and, by his estimate, nearly $12,000 worth of items were stolen. According to Thomas, the Jets told him that part of the reason that he was released was because he did not "engage" enough with his teammates.

Detroit Lions

The day after his release from the Jets, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

on December 17,

. In his brief stint with the Lions, Thomas earned $75,882 while appearing in only one game and failing to record any statistics.

Minnesota Vikings

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 ...

signed Thomas on July 24,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, following the news that cornerback Jabari Price would be suspended for two games to start the season. He was released on September 5.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 22,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by 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 ...

. He was cut on December 8.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On December 30, 2015, because of injuries to cornerback

Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, winning the Jim Thorpe Award a ...

and safety Barry Church, the

signed him to play in the last game of the season against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. On August 29,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, he was placed on the

with a left thumb injury he suffered in the preseason game against the

. On November 22, the Cowboys moved Thomas to the

Non-Football Injury list Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL ...

. He was not re-signed in 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Josh 1989 births Living people American football cornerbacks Buffalo Bulls football players Carolina Panthers players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Indianapolis Colts players Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players People from Cedar Hill, Texas Players of American football from Ellis County, Texas Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas