Shamarko Lanell Thomas (born February 23, 1991) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. 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 ...

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

, and was selected by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the fourth round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Thomas was also a member of 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 ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

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 ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

New York Guardians New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

, and the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

Early life

Thomas was born in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. He attended Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, and he played for the Ocean Lakes Dolphins high school football team. He was named 2008 first-team all-state, all-region and All-Tidewater, and was a two-time first-team all-district selection. He set school records in career tackles, interceptions and defensive touchdowns. In 2008, he recorded a team-high 102 tackles, six interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and one blocked field goal as a team captain, leading the squad to a 12–1 record, while earning 2008 team defensive MVP honors. He led the team in tackles as a junior. Thomas was also a track star at Ocean Lakes High School. He earned all-state honors competing in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, and as the anchor of the

4 × 100 meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. Evolution of the Hi ...

that placed seventh in Virginia. At the 2009 Beach District Championships, he placed first in the

(10.76s) and third in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

(21.78s).

College career

Thomas attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, where he was a member of the

Syracuse Orange football The Syracuse Orange football team represents Syracuse University in the sport of American football. The Orange compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

team from 2009 to 2012. During his career, he started 43 of 48 games in which he played, recording 263 tackles, two

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 ...

and four

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

s. As a senior in 2012, he was a first-team All-

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

selection.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Thomas was projected by many analysts to be a mid-round selection, likely going in the third or fourth rounds. Although he had good coverage skills and was thought to be really tough, many scouts thought his lack of height would be an issue when covering tight ends. He was invited to the NFL Combine and performed well, but during his 40 yard dash, he fell. He was unable to perform the three-cone drill due to a hamstring injury but did make it up at Syracuse's Pro Day. Thomas was comfortable enough with his combine performance that he chose not to do any exercises, besides three-cone drill, at his Pro Day. He was also rated fourth among 177 qualifying strong safeties by NFLDraftScout.com.

Pittsburgh Steelers

2013 season

The

selected Thomas in the fourth round (111th overall) of the

. The Steelers traded their third round pick in the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in order to acquire their fourth round pick (111th overall) in the draft to select Thomas. On May 16, 2013, Thomas signed a four-year, $2.61 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $453,152. He entered his rookie season as the third-string backup to Pro-bowl veteran

Troy Polamalu Troy Aumua Polamalu (; born Troy Benjamin Aumua; April 19, 1981) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). An eight-time ...

and Damon Cromartie-Smith. He made his professional debut in the Steelers' season opener against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

and finished with two tackles. On September 22, 2013, Thomas had his first career start and finished the loss with one tackle against 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 ...

. On November 3, 2013, he had his best game of the season after he made a season-high 8 total tackles during the Steelers' 31–55 loss to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. During a Week 10 matchup against the

, he suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for the next two games. Before the injury, Thomas had been able to earn the backup strong safety position and mainly played the primary safety in the defense's sub packages. Veteran Will Allen was signed by the Steelers to substitute for Thomas while he recovered from his injury and when he returned he was unable to win his former position from Allen. He finished his rookie season with a total of 29 tackles in 14 games and two starts.

2014 season

During the offseason, Thomas was invited by Troy Polamalu to train with him in California under Polamalu's trainer Marv Marinovich. He was the first player Polamalu ever invited. They used iso-kinetic training to focused on fast-twitch muscle fibers. He entered training camp battling Will Allen for the backup position behind Polamalu, and won the backup position after Allen was moved to the backup free safety position behind Mike Mitchell. In his second season with the Steelers, he was unable to receive prominent playing time and was mainly used as a gunner on special teams. During the 2014 season, Thomas played in 11 games, none as a starter, recording 5 solo tackles and his first career forced fumble at Carolina Panthers in Week 3.

2015 season

On April 9, 2015, Polamalu announced his retirement from the NFL, and Thomas was assumed to be the heir apparent. After a rough preseason, it was determined that Thomas would be the backup behind Will Allen. Thomas played sparsely during the season, registering just 12 tackles in 15 games.

2016 season

Thomas entered the offseason with an opportunity to regain the starting position after the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to overhaul their pass defense after ranking 28th in 2015. With former starting strong safety Will Allen gone, Thomas battled rookie Sean Davis and veteran

Robert Golden Robert Golden (born September 13, 1990) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at the University of Arizona. Robert is the founder of Golden C ...

for the starting strong safety position. He lost the job to Golden and was slated to be his backup to begin the regular season. He was placed on injured reserve on December 24, 2016.

New York Jets

On June 2, 2017, Thomas signed with the

. On September 2, 2017, he was released by the Jets.

Buffalo Bills

On October 3, 2017, Thomas was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts

On July 26, 2018, Thomas signed with the

. Thomas was released by the Colts on August 11, 2018.

Denver Broncos

On August 13, 2018, Thomas signed with the

. He was released on September 1, 2018. He was re-signed on September 11, 2018. He was released on December 10, 2018. On January 2, 2019, Thomas was re-signed to reserve/future contract. He was released on August 31, 2019.

New York Guardians

Thomas was signed by the

of the XFL in January 2020.

DC Defenders

Thomas was traded to the

in a three-team trade on January 20, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Ottawa Redblacks

Thomas signed with the

of the CFL on April 19, 2021. He was placed on the suspended list on July 9, 2021.

Personal life

While attending Syracuse University in 2010, Thomas lost his mother and father in a span of nine months. His mother, Ebeth Shabazz, died from a heart condition and his father died after being involved in a motorcycle accident. As the oldest child in his family, Thomas questioned whether or not to enter the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

so he could have an income to help his siblings. He has four brothers and one sister.

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Shamarko 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia Beach, Virginia American football safeties Syracuse Orange football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Jets players Buffalo Bills players Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players New York Guardians players DC Defenders players Ottawa Redblacks players 21st-century African-American sportsmen Canadian football defensive backs Players of Canadian football from Virginia