Julius Dewayne Thomas (born June 27, 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

, and was drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

in the fourth round of 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 ...

. He also played for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

and

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 ...

Early life and education

Thomas is the son of Greg and Toria Thomas. He has two brothers, Trenton and Marcus. Thomas graduated from

Tokay High School Tokay High School is one of two high schools in Lodi, California, United States, the other being Lodi High School. Tokay High School is part of the Lodi Unified School District. The school's colors are purple and gold, and its mascot is the ti ...

Lodi, California Lodi ( ) is a city located in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, in the center portion of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cen ...

. Thomas graduated from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, with a bachelor's degree in

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

College career

While at Portland State, Thomas was a First-team All-

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

selection in football in 2010. He finished the season with 29 receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns for Portland State's football team. Thomas had not played collegiate football prior to 2010. Thomas played four seasons for the Portland State basketball team. During his collegiate basketball career, Thomas set school records for career games played (121), career wins (78), and career field goals percentage (.663), and also participated on one Big Sky regular season championship team and two Big Sky tournament championship teams as well two NCAA Tournaments (2008 and 2009). He was twice named to the Big Sky All-Tournament team. As a senior, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and shot a school-record .671 from the field.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Thomas was selected in the fourth round with the 129th overall pick by the

in the

. He was the highest selected Portland State Viking since quarterback

Neil Lomax Neil Vincent Lomax (born February 17, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played his entire professional career for the St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Portland S ...

was selected in the second round by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in 1980. His rookie contract was four years and $2,420,000 through the 2014 season. It included a $384,000 signing bonus.

2011 season

In his first NFL season, Thomas had only one catch as he battled various injuries. He appeared in five games on the season. Thomas's lone catch, which came from quarterback

Kyle Orton Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...

, came on September 18 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

2012 season

Thomas did not record any statistics in the 2012 season. He only appeared in four games.

2013 season

Thomas erupted onto the scene in the 2013 season. He scored his first and second career touchdowns in the season opener against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

on September 5, 2013, having a five catch, 110-yard, two-touchdown breakout performance. Both of Thomas's touchdowns came from quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

. He followed up this performance in Week 2 with a six-catch, 47-yard performance that ended with a game-sealing touchdown against the

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

. In Week 3, he continued his scoring streak against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

with three receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. Thomas played his best game of the season in Week 5, catching nine passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns in a 51–48 shootout win against 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 ...

. On October 13, he had four receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown against the

. On October 20, he had five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown against the

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 ...

. On November 10, 2013, he had three receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown against the

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 ...

. In Week 16, in a win over the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, Thomas caught a touchdown from Peyton Manning, which was his 51st touchdown pass of the season, which set a single season record. Thomas ended the season with 12 touchdown receptions, the most by any Denver Broncos tight end. Thomas and the Broncos reached

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

, where he had four receptions for 27 yards, but lost 43–8 to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

2014 season

In the first game of the 2014 season, the Broncos hosted the

. During that game, Thomas caught three first-half touchdown passes from quarterback

, tying former Bronco

Shannon Sharpe Shannon Sharpe (born June 26, 1968) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he ranks th ...

's franchise record for the most touchdowns by a tight end in a single season game. The Broncos went on to win the game by a score of 31–24. In the next game, he had four receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. In a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch in the following game, he had three receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown in an overtime loss to the

. On October 5, he had six receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns against 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 t ...

. His first score was Peyton Manning's 500th career touchdown pass. Three days later, Thomas was fined $8,000 for a chop block on Cardinals

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 ...

Calais Campbell Calais Mark Campbell ( ; born September 1, 1986) is an American football defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami Hurricanes football, Miami and was drafted by the Arizona ...

. On October 12, 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 ...

, he had two receptions for 44 yards and two touchdowns, which tied

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

's record of nine touchdowns through the first five games of a season. On November 2, he had two receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown against the

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 ...

. On November 9, he had six receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns against the

. Although his numbers in receptions and yards dropped from the previous season, Thomas recorded 12 touchdowns for the second straight season. Thomas and the Broncos made the playoffs in the 2014 season. They fell to the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Round 24–13. Thomas had six receptions for 53 yards in the loss.

Jacksonville Jaguars

2015 season

On March 10, 2015, Thomas signed a five-year, $46 million contract with the

. On October 18, Thomas had seven receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown against the

. On November 19, his five-yard touchdown catch was the game-winner in Jacksonville's 19–13 victory over the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. On November 29, he had nine receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown against the

. On December 6, he had two receptions for 15 yards and a touchdown in another game against the Titans. On December 13, he had five receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown against the

. On the season, Thomas totaled 45 receptions for 455 yards and five touchdowns.

2016 season

Thomas started his second season in Jacksonville with five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on September 11. On October 23, he had three receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown against the

. On October 27, he had three receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown against the

. On November 13, he had six receptions for 24 yards and a touchdowns against the

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 10, 2016, after missing two games with a back injury. In the 2016 season, Thomas played in nine games with six starts recording 30 receptions for 281 yards and four touchdowns.

Miami Dolphins

The Jaguars traded Thomas to the

, where he signed a new two-year contract. He was placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2017. He played in 14 games with 12 starts, recording 41 catches for 388 yards for three touchdowns. On March 14, 2018, Thomas was released by the Dolphins.

Retirement

On August 24, 2018, Thomas announced his retirement from the NFL to pursue a doctorate in psychology. He would like to study CTE to help others.

Career statistics

Personal life

Thomas is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

External links

Portland State Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Julius 1988 births Living people African-American players of American football American football tight ends Denver Broncos players Jacksonville Jaguars players Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Stockton, California Portland State Vikings men's basketball players Portland State Vikings football players Unconferenced Pro Bowl players American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people