Dontarrious Dewayne Thomas (born September 2, 1980) 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 ...

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 ...

who last played for the

Sacramento Mountain Lions The Sacramento Mountain Lions was a professional 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 rect ...

of the United Football League. He was drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the second round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. 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 ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. Thomas was also a member of 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 ...

California Redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

, 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 ...

Early years

At Perry High School in

Perry, Georgia Perry is a city in Houston and Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,602 at the 2000 census. As of 2019 the estimated population was 17,894. I ...

, Thomas was a three sport standout in football, basketball, and track. In football, he was a Class 2-A-All-State selection, and as a senior, had 6 interceptions, returned an interception for a touchdown, had 78 tackles (50 solo tackles, 28 assisted), and rushed for 278 yards on only 14 carries (19.9 yd. per rush avg.).

Professional career

First stint with Vikings

Thomas was drafted by the

in the second round (48th overall) of the

. He played four seasons with the Vikings, appearing in 59 games (10 starts) and recording 143 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.

San Francisco 49ers

Thomas was originally signed No. 51 upon signing with the 49ers in 2008. When

Brandon Moore was released in August, Thomas switched to Moore's #56 while the newly signed

Takeo Spikes Takeo Gerard Spikes (; born December 17, 1976) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Auburn University. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals 13th overall in ...

took 51. However, on August 31, 2008, Thomas was released by the 49ers to make room for

Ahmad Brooks Ahmad Kadar Brooks (born March 14, 1984) is an American former football outside linebacker. He played college football at Virginia, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2006 NFL Supplemental Draft. He has also play ...

Second stint with Vikings

Thomas was signed by the

on October 13, 2008 when

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 ...

Drew Radovich Drew Radovich (born June 20, 1985 in Mission Viejo, California) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Southern California. Radovich has also been a member of the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Col ...

was placed on

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 ...

. Thomas appeared in four games for the Vikings that season, recording one assisted tackle.

California Redwoods

Thomas signed with the

of the United Football League in 2009 and recorded 35 tackles.

San Diego Chargers

Thomas was signed by the

on January 5, 2010 after

James Holt was placed on

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Dontarrious 1980 births Living people People from Perry, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football linebackers Auburn Tigers football players Minnesota Vikings players San Francisco 49ers players Sacramento Mountain Lions players San Diego Chargers players