Orlando "Duke" Thomas (born May 21, 1994) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turno ...

. He played college football for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

Early life

Duke Thomas was born in Middletown, Connecticut on May 21, 1994. Thomas started playing football at the age of 9. He moved to Louisiana and then moved to Texas at the age of 10. He was a three-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and a member of the inaugural Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team .

College career

As a freshman, Thomas played as a reserve

and on special teams in all 13 games for the

. He tied for second on the team with 8 tackles. He put up two tackles against New Mexico and one special teams tackle against West Virginia. Thomas recorded a season-best three tackles against Baylor. During Thomas' sophomore season he played in all 13 games with 10 starts. He started the first six games at

and had a team best three interceptions while playing against Oklahoma State, Baylor and Oregon. During the Alamo Bowl in 2013 Thomas recorded three tackles and one kickoff return for 21 yards against Oregon. In Thomas' junior year he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 and led the team with 10 pass breakups and tied for second with three interceptions. He tied for eighth in the Big 12 in passes defended (1.0 per game) and tied for 15th in the Big 12 in interceptions (0.2 per game). Thomas set career-high 53 tackles while posting a tackle and a

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

against North Texas. Thomas finished his college career strong earning Honorable mention All-Big 12 and second-team Academic All-Big 12 selections. He started all 12 games and finished third on the team in tackles with 58, and second in with five breakups. He also tied for the most tackles for loss among defensive backs (3). Thomas had at least three tackles in every game, and at least four in seven contests. Thomas wore jersey number 28 against Kansas in honor of Freddie Steinmark while totaling four tackles, one interception and a return of 29 yards at Baylor. He was named the team’s co-Defensive Player of the Week.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Thomas went undrafted during the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

and signed with the Houston Texans as a college free agent on May 5, 2016. He was waived on August 30, 2016

Philadelphia Eagles

On October 11, 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Thomas to their practice squad. He was released on October 21, 2016.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 20, 2016, Thomas was signed to the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 16, 2017, Thomas signed a futures 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 divis ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 2, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Thomas was waived by the Cowboys.

Toronto Argonauts (CFL)

On October 17, 2018, Thomas was signed to the Toronto Argonauts' practice squad. He was released on November 3, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders (AAF)

In December 2018, Thomas signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...

of the AAF. Thomas made 22 tackles, defended 4 passes, and caught one interception before the league shut down.

Minnesota Vikings

On April 5, 2019, Thomas signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He was waived on August 31, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 18, 2019, Thomas was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cardinals on December 30, 2019. He was waived on August 23, 2020.

Buffalo Bills

On January 1, 2021, Thomas was signed to 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. T ...

practice squad. On January 23, 2021, Thomas was released by the Bills.

References

External links

NFL profileTexas Longhorns bioHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Duke 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Killeen, Texas American football cornerbacks Texas Longhorns football players Houston Texans players Philadelphia Eagles players San Francisco 49ers players Dallas Cowboys players San Antonio Commanders players Minnesota Vikings players Arizona Cardinals players Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Connecticut Sportspeople from Middletown, Connecticut