Michael Thomas (born June 4, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the fourth round of the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Early life

Thomas attended DeSoto High School in

DeSoto, Texas DeSoto is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. DeSoto is a suburb of Dallas and is part of the Best Southwest area, which includes DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Duncanville, and Lancaster. History The area was first settled in 1847, maki ...

. As a senior, he had 15 receptions for 205 yards as a receiver and 333 yards on 26 carries as a

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

College career

Thomas attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

from 2005 to 2008. While there he started 39 of 48 games and set the school and

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

record for receptions with 259 for 3,231 yards and 23

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Thomas was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

with the 107th overall pick. As a rookie, he started four of the 14 games in which he played, and had 48 receptions for 453 yards and a touchdown. His 48 receptions were tied with

Michael Crabtree Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, twi ...

for fourth among all rookies. A key play of his career was in a 2010 Week 10 game against the Texans. With just 3 seconds remaining in regulation and the game tied at 24, QB

David Garrard David Douglas Garrard (born February 14, 1978) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates and was selected b ...

launched a "Hail Mary" pass from the 50-yard line intended for Mike Sims-Walker. The ball was batted down at the goal line by Texans DB

Glover Quin Glover Freeman Quin Jr. (born January 15, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, and was selected by the Houston Texa ...

, and then hit Thomas in the chest. Thomas was able to grab the ball next to his left knee before it hit the ground, and he took a step forward into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. On October 30, 2012, Thomas was traded to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

for a 2014 fifth round draft pick.

Detroit Lions

Thomas was cut by the Lions on August 19, 2013.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 20, 2013, Thomas was signed by 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) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He was released on August 30, 2013.

Houston Texans

Thomas signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

on December 30, 2013. On August 31, 2014, Thomas was released.

Toronto Argonauts

Thomas was signed by the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

on November 21, 2014. He was released by the Argonauts on May 13, 2015.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars BioToronto Argonauts bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mike 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Bossier City, Louisiana Sportspeople from DeSoto, Texas Players of American football from Louisiana Players of American football from Dallas County, Texas American football wide receivers Arizona Wildcats football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Detroit Lions players Arizona Cardinals players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Toronto Argonauts players Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Louisiana