Thomas Clayton (born April 26, 1984) 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. He was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He last played college football at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. He has also been a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.

Early years

Clayton was born in Germany on April 26, 1984. Clayton grew up in the Washington DC metropolitan area where he attended

Mount Vernon High School Mount Vernon High School could refer to: *Mount Vernon High School (Arkansas) — Mount Vernon, Arkansas * Mount Vernon High School (Illinois) — Mount Vernon, Illinois *Mount Vernon High School (Fortville, Indiana) * Mount Vernon High Sch ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, where he was a SuperPrep All-American running back. He was named to the

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All-USA team and was rated the eighth best running back nationally by

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and participated in U.S. Army All-American Bowl As a senior, he rushed for more than 2,000 yards.

College career

Clayton began his college football career at Florida State University as a true freshman in 2002, rushing for 45 yards on 13 attempts. Clayton made his final appearance as a Seminole, playing in the

2003 Sugar Bowl The 2003 Sugar Bowl, a 2002–03 BCS game, was played on January 1, 2003. This 69th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Florida State Seminoles. Georgia came into the game 12–1 and ranked 3rd in the BCS, whereas F ...

. Following the BCS Bowl, Clayton then transferred to Kansas State University, where he sat out the 2003 season under

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transfer rules. In 2004, Clayton appeared in 10 games serving as primary backup to

Darren Sproles Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983) is an American football executive and former running back and return specialist who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

. He finishing with 14 carries for 71 yards. In 2005, with the departure of

to the NFL, Clayton's junior year looked to be promising. Picking up where Sproles left off, Clayton looked to be Kansas State's new bell cow, shredding opposing defenses for an average of 164.5 yards per game and 7.7 yards per rush. Leading the nation in both rushing yards per game, and yards per carry after week 3, Clayton was off to one of the best starts in school history, piling up 329 yards in the first two games. It was the most rushing yards in school history for the first two games of a season. He needed 221 yards to equal the best three-game start in school history and 70 yards for the second-best start, and against a feeble

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

opponent coming week 4, Clayton would have had no problem accomplishing that had he not been suspended due to an arrest during the team's week 3 bye. "Thomas Clayton, the nation's leading rusher, was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated battery, stemming from a Sept. 16 altercation involving a university parking services employee." Obviously slowed down by this arrest, Clayton found himself in the dog house after such a promising start. Working himself back into good grace with the team, Clayton was able to finish the 2005 season with two strong games against Nebraska (85 yards) and Missouri (104 yards), allowing him to finish as the team's leading rusher with 637 yards and 5 total touchdowns. In 2006, Clayton entered the season ranked amongst the nation's top 10 returning senior running backs. However, with the retirement of head coach

Bill Snyder William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...

, and the hiring of Ron Prince, Clayton was not able to match his 2005 success. With obvious friction between Clayton and Prince, Clayton only started 4 games his senior year, finishing the year with 338 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns before parting ways with the team after week 6, for undisclosed reasons. Clayton's best game in 2006 came in week 3 against Kansas State's highest ranked opponent, #5

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, where he rushed for 119 yards on 15 carries, one of which went 69 yards for a touchdown. He also hauled in five passes for 34 yards. Though Clayton only participated in 4 games his senior season, NFL scouts felt he displayed plenty of upside in his junior season to receive a 2007

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

invitation. Clayton also participated in the 2007

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. Clayton was a late addition to the 2007

roster, but certainly made his presence felt upon his arrival to Mobile, Alabama. Clayton took advantage of his opportunity to display his ability in Mobile, immediately catching the eye of NFL scouts with his burst and quickness throughout the week of practice.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Clayton was drafted by the

in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. He went on to lead the NFL in rushing during the 2007 preseason.Rapoport, Ian
"Patriots sign RB Thomas Clayton to their active roster"
'' Boston Herald'', September 30, 2010. Retrieved on June 30, 2013. He duplicated his preseason success in 2008, where he led all rushers again. In August 2009, Clayton suffered an ACL injury, and was placed on injured reserve, where he spent the entire season.

First stint with the Patriots

Clayton signed with the New England Patriots on June 11, 2010. He was waived on August 6, 2010, but re-signed on August 11, 2010. He was waived during final cuts on September 4, 2010.

First stint with the Browns

Clayton was signed to the

' practice squad on September 14, 2010.

Second stint with the Patriots

The Patriots signed Clayton off the Browns' practice squad on September 30, 2010. He was waived on October 23, 2010.

Second stint with the Browns

Clayton was claimed off waivers by the Browns on October 25, 2010. He was waived on December 1, 2010. He was active for two games, registering 0 yards on one carry in a Week 10 loss to the New York Jets.

Third stint with the Patriots

The Patriots claimed Clayton off waivers on December 2, 2010. He played in one game for the Patriots, the Week 17 season finale against 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 ...

, running six times for 17 yards. He was released on August 3, 2011.

Seattle Seahawks

Clayton was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks on August 3 and then released prior to the start of the season.

Third stint with the Browns

Clayton signed with the Browns on November 1, 2011, after

Montario Hardesty Montario Hardesty (born February 1, 1987), is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the running backs coach at the University of South Carolina. Hardesty played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he a ...

tore his calf muscle. La Canfora, Jason
"With Hardesty, Hillis sidelined, Browns sign RB Clayton"
''

NFL.com The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

'', November 1, 2011. Retrieved on June 30, 2013.

Arizona Cardinals

Clayton signed with the Arizona Cardinals on July 31, 2012. He was waived/injured on August 24, 2012.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio

Cleveland Browns bio

Seattle Seahawks bioNew England Patriots bio

San Francisco 49ers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Thomas 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football running backs Florida State Seminoles football players Kansas State Wildcats football players San Francisco 49ers players New England Patriots players Cleveland Browns players Seattle Seahawks players Arizona Cardinals players