Cedric Thornton (born June 21, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2011. He 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 ...

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas. History Southern Arkansas University was established by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1909 as a district agricultural high school for southwest Arkansas and ...

Early life

Thornton attended

Star City High School Star City High School is a comprehensive public high school for students in grades 9 through 12 located in Star City, Arkansas, United States. Star City High School is the only public high school in Lincoln County and the only high school of th ...

, where he practiced football,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. In football, he played as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and wide receiver. Thornton walked on to Division II

to join his brother. He was converted into a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and became a starter as a junior, recording 80 tackles (first on the team), 23 tackles for loss (ranked first in college football), 8.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 blocked kicks. The next year, he had 52 tackles (third on the team), 13 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 5 quarterback hurries (led the team) and one forced fumble.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Thornton signed by the

as an

following the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual 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 Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

and

NFL lockout The NFL lockout may refer to any of the lockouts or strikes in the history of the National Football League: * The 1968 NFL strike/lockout, which lasted 12 days before the start of the 1968 season. * The 1970 NFL strike/lockout, which lasted a ...

. He initially made the 53-man roster after training camp to open the season, but was waived to make room for offensive lineman

Kyle DeVan Kyle DeVan (born February 10, 1985) is an American football coach and former player. He was a coach for the New Orleans Saints and a Guard (American football), guard. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He ...

on September 4. He was re-signed to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day, where he spent the first thirteen weeks of the season. On December 12, he was promoted to the active roster and was declared inactive for the last three games. In 2012, Thornton's playing time increased as a backup on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

rotation, while registering 47 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and one sack. His best game came against 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, when he had 8 tackles and one sack. In 2013, he became the starting defensive end in the Eagles 3-4 defense, posting 78 tackles, 5 tackles for loss (third on the team) and one sack. The next year, he missed 3 games with a hand injury, but still had 61 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, one sack and 3 fumble recoveries.

Dallas Cowboys

On March 10, 2016, Thornton signed a four-year contract with 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

worth more than $18 million and $6 million guaranteed, with the intention of moving him from

. His season was seen as something of a disappointment, because he couldn't supplant

Terrell McClain Terrell McClain (born July 20, 1988) is a professional gridiron football defensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He p ...

or rookie

Maliek Collins Maliek Collins Sr. (born April 8, 1995) is an American football defensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska. Early years Collins was born on April 8, 1995, in Kansas Ci ...

in the starting lineup and was relegated to a backup role as part of the

rotation. He missed the last 3 games against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and

with a high ankle sprain. He finished with 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, he entered the 2017 organized team activities as the leading candidate to replace McClain, who had left in free agency. He injured his hamstring after being off to a good start, which forced him to miss several weeks of training camp. He was eventually passed on the depth chart by

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

acquisition

Stephen Paea Stephen Paea ( ; born May 11, 1988) is a New Zealand–born former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for Oregon State University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears ...

. Although his $3 million base salary was guaranteed for the season, the Cowboys released him on September 3, after claiming

Brian Price off waivers.

Buffalo Bills

On September 5, 2017, Thornton signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He appeared in 15 games with 3 starts.

San Francisco 49ers

On July 25, 2018, Thornton signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

. On August 22, 2018, Thornton announced his retirement from the NFL after six seasons. On April 15, 2019, Thornton came out of retirement after sitting out 2018, and was added to the 49ers active roster. He was released on July 26, 2019.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Thornton now coaches elementary and secondary basketball and football teams in the DFW area.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Cedric 1988 births Living people People from Star City, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Southern Arkansas Muleriders football players Philadelphia Eagles players Dallas Cowboys players Buffalo Bills players San Francisco 49ers players