Donald Grant Thomas (born September 25, 1985) is an

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 ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the

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

in the sixth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. 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 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Thomas has also played for 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) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, and

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Early years

Thomas, as a freshman, played two games with neighboring town West Haven High School JV team because Career Magnet High School does not have a football team. The New Haven Public School addressed Thomas's athletic eligibility and since Career had other varsity sports, they declared Thomas could not play for West Haven High School. Despite this, Thomas excelled at other sports, such as basketball, baseball, and soccer.

College career

Thomas entered University of Connecticut without the intention of playing sports. Once he played pick-up basketball with Huskies

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Danny Lansanah, Lansanah persuaded Thomas to try out for a walk-on position for University of Connecticut's varsity football team. Thomas' strong work ethic eventually earned him a full scholarship and a starting guard position where he was named All Big East in 2007 for UConn.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Thomas was drafted in the sixth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

as the 195th pick overall. He was promoted to the starting right guard on the third day of training camp over Trey Darilek. He made his NFL debut on September 7, 2008, against 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. Thomas injured his left foot in the second quarter but played through the injury and finished the game. The injury later proved to be a

Lisfranc fracture A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecologi ...

and Thomas was placed on season-ending

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 th ...

on September 9. Thomas was released by the team at the start of the 2010 NFL season.

Detroit Lions

After trying out for several teams Thomas eventually signed with the

in November of the 2010 season. He was not in the active roster for any game in the 2010 NFL season.

New England Patriots

Thomas was signed by the

on September 14, 2011, after a season-ending injury to starting center

Dan Koppen Daniel Koppen (born September 12, 1979) is a former American football center who played for ten years in the National Football League with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. Prior to entering the NFL in 2003, he played college footba ...

created an opening on the roster. He has been utilized as a fullback in short yardage situations. Thomas was brought into the starting lineup on December 24 against his former team the

when starting left guard

Logan Mankins Logan Lee Mankins (born March 10, 1982) is a former American football guard who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. After playing college football at Fresno State, he was drafte ...

went down with a knee injury.

Indianapolis Colts

Thomas signed with the

on March 12, 2013. Thomas immediately became the starting left guard for the Colts, but was placed on injured reserve after sustaining a quadriceps tear in a week two loss to the Miami Dolphins, his former team. On July 30, 2014, Thomas re-tore the same quadriceps muscle that cost him all but two games in 2013. On July 31, Thomas was officially put on injured reserve, ending his 2014 season.

References

External links

UConn bio

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Donald 1985 births Living people Players of American football from New Haven, Connecticut American football tight ends American football offensive guards UConn Huskies football players Miami Dolphins players Detroit Lions players New England Patriots players Indianapolis Colts players