Hollis Thomas, Jr. (born January 10, 1974) 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 wi ...

defensive tackle. 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 play ...

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 1996. He played college football at

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by t ...

. Thomas also played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

In 1996, Thomas signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent. He was a major part of the Eagles defense during his 10-year career in Philadelphia.

New Orleans Saints

Right after Thomas was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Saints claimed him from the waivers. When healthy, Thomas was considered an important part of the Saints' defense, especially against running plays, and he was seen as playing a key role in the Saints' successful 2006 season, when they reached the

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

championship game for the first time in their history.Mike Triplett
"New Orleans Saints release defensive tackle Hollis Thomas"
, ''

New Orleans Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

'', April 29, 2009. On December 5, 2006, Thomas was suspended for four games by the NFL for violating the league's steroids policy. In Thomas' appeal, New Orleans team doctor John Amos said that Thomas' asthma medicine contained two steroids, creating a

false positive A false positive is an error in binary classification in which a test result incorrectly indicates the presence of a condition (such as a disease when the disease is not present), while a false negative is the opposite error, where the test resul ...

but Thomas lost the appeal. Thomas tore his right triceps on August 14, 2008, in a pass-rushing drill against a Houston Texans offensive lineman. He was later released on September 11 with an injury settlement. The Saints re-signed him on November 3. On April 29, 2009, it was reported that the Saints had released Thomas.

St. Louis Rams

On July 29, 2009, the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

signed Thomas. He was given a 1-year deal for an undisclosed amount.

Carolina Panthers

Thomas was signed by the

on October 1, 2009, after the team waived defensive tackle Ra'Shon Harris. In a game against the Buffalo Bills on October 25, 2009, Thomas tackled Bills running back Fred Jackson in the end-zone for a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Hollis 1974 births Living people Players of American football from Abilene, Texas American football defensive tackles Northern Illinois Huskies football players Philadelphia Eagles players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Rams players Carolina Panthers players Omaha Nighthawks players Philadelphia Soul coaches