Phillip Thomas (born March 1, 1989) 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 ...
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 ...
. He played
college football at
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
, and was selected by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in the fourth round of the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...
.
Early years
Thomas was born in
Bakersfield, California. He attended
Bakersfield High School
Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School District.
Notable alumni
...
, and played
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
for the Bakersfield Drillers.
College career
Thomas attended
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...
, where he played for the
Fresno State Bulldogs football team from 2008 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he was named an All-American by the
American Football Coaches Association
The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...
(AFCA) and
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...
. He was also a finalist for the
Jim Thorpe Award
The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Payco ...
. He was named to the
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
All-America team and winner of the 2012 CFPA Defensive Back Trophy. He became the first
unanimous All-American
The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...
in Fresno State history when he was named to the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
All-America team.
Professional career
2013 NFL Combine
Washington Redskins
Thomas was selected by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
in the fourth round, with the 119th overall pick, of the
2013 NFL Draft
The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...
. He officially signed a four-year contract with the team on May 17, 2013. In the first preseason game against 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 hom ...
, he suffered a left foot injury, which was originally diagnosed as a sprain. On August 13, it was announced that Thomas would miss the entire 2013 season and be placed on
injured reserve due to a torn
Lisfranc ligament.
Battling hamstring and foot injuries in the preseason, the Redskins waived him on August 30, 2014 for final roster cuts before the start of the
2014 season. After clearing waivers, he was signed to the team's practice squad the following day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 1, 2014. He was waived on August 5, 2015.
Miami Dolphins
Thomas signed with 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 p ...
on August 10, 2015. On August 30, 2015, he was waived.
Buffalo Bills
On December 30, 2015, the
Buffalo Bills signed Thomas to their
practice squad. On January 4, 2016, he signed a
futures contract
In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...
with the Bills. On June 17, 2016, he was waived. On June 20, 2016, the Bills placed Thomas on injured reserve after clearing waivers.
On March 6, 2017, Thomas was released by the Bills.
Personal life
His older brother was featured in a Frontline documentary
Stickup Kid
References
External links
Washington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Phillip
1989 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American football safeties
Fresno State Bulldogs football players
Washington Redskins players
Miami Dolphins players
Buffalo Bills players
Players of American football from Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield High School alumni