William "Tra" Thomas III (born November 20, 1974) is an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player who is the offensive line coach for IMG Academy. He played as an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Philadelphia Eagles. Thomas played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. He was selected by the Eagles with the 11th overall pick in the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

. He played for the Eagles for 11 seasons, from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

–

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Thomas was also a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. He was a one-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection in his career.

Early years

Thomas attended DeLand High School in DeLand, Florida and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Thomas was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles 11th overall in the

. He played for the Eagles from

–

, starting 165 of 166 games at left offensive tackle. He made three Pro Bowls with the Eagles.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 9, 2009, Thomas signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent. He was released on February 11, 2010.

San Diego Chargers

Thomas was signed by the

to a one-year contract on June 9, 2010. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee during training camp.

Retirement

Thomas officially retired from the NFL as a Philadelphia Eagle on August 16, 2012.

Coaching career

Thomas rejoined the Philadelphia Eagles as a coaching intern in 2013, working primarily with the offensive line. He was hired following training camp as an offensive assistant coach. His contract expired after the 2014 season and he was not re-signed. He is currently the offensive line coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Broadcast career

In 2011, Thomas replaced Vaughn Hebron as an analyst for Eagles Post Game Live on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which airs after every Philadelphia Eagles game. In 2019, Thomas joined 97.5 WPEN for their morning broadcast with Marc Farzetta. On March 31, 2020 Thomas was let go from 97.5 due to cutbacks by Beasely Media Group.

Name changes

Thomas' given name is William Thomas III; during the Ray Rhodes era, the Eagles had a Pro Bowl linebacker also named William Thomas. During his early years in the NFL, Thomas was referred to by his nickname, "Tra". However, before the 2006 season, Thomas requested to be called William Thomas. In April 2008, he decided to return to Tra Thomas after the name William failed to catch on.Musing On Smith Move, Reid Interview, More - Philadelphia Eagles
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References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Tra 1974 births Living people People from DeLand, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football offensive tackles Florida State Seminoles football players Philadelphia Eagles players Philadelphia Eagles coaches Jacksonville Jaguars players San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from Volusia County, Florida National Conference Pro Bowl players