Orrin Christopher Thompson (born November 11, 1982) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was signed 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 ...

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 2005. 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 ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

. Thompson has been a member of 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 ...

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. ...

New York Sentinels New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominally ...

. He is the older brother of NFL

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 ...

and former Packers teammate

Jeremy Thompson Jeremy Gordon Thompson (born 23 September 1947) is an English journalist and former news presenter for Sky News, the 24-hour UK television news service operated by Sky UK. He was based at Sky News Centre in west London. He started out as a jou ...

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Thompson was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent in April 2005. Despite playing

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in college, he was moved to the offensive line with the Dolphins. He was waived on August 30, 2005, and was subsequently signed to the team's practice squad, where he spent the entire season. In 2006, Thompson was allocated to

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

by the Dolphins but was unable to play due to injury. He was once again released following training camp and re-signed to the practice squad.

Green Bay Packers

Thompson was released from the Dolphins' practice squad during the 2006 season added to the practice squad of the

, where he spent the rest of the season. On January 2, 2007, it was announced that the Packers signed Thompson to a future contract. Thompson went to training camp with the Packers in 2007 and was placed on the practice squad to start the season. On September 22, he was promoted to the active roster. Thompson was inactive for all but one game during his stint on the active roster and dressed but did not play in the other. On October 18, he was released. The team re-signed him to the practice squad a few days later. On January 3, 2008, the Packers promoted Thompson to the active roster again after offensive tackle Junius Coston was placed on injured reserve. During 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, ...

the Packers selected Orrin's brother,

, in the fourth round. However, Orrin Thompson was waived by the Packers during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

New York Giants

After spending the 2008 regular season out of football, Thompson was signed by the

on January 14, 2009. He was waived on September 5, 2009.

UFL

Thompson started the 2009 UFL season at left tackle for the New York club. In 2010, he started at left tackle for the Hartford Colonials, after the New York franchise's shutdown. He was resigned for 2011 by the Colonials. However, the Colonials were contracted by the UFL on August 10, 2011, making Thompson a free agent. He was taken #1 overall by the Omaha nighthawks in the Colonials dispersal draft and started at right tackle. In 2012, he started at left tackle for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL but injured his knee the next season and subsequently retired.

External links

Edmonton Eskimos player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Orrin 1982 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Charlotte Christian School alumni Duke Blue Devils football players Edmonton Elks players Green Bay Packers players Hartford Colonials players Miami Dolphins players New York Giants players New York Sentinels players Omaha Nighthawks players Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina Players of American football from Camden County, New Jersey