Robert Thomas

Robert Wayne Thomas (born July 17, 1980) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and was recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams 31st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Rams, Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders of the NFL.

Early years

Thomas was born in El Centro, California. He graduated from Imperial High School in the Imperial Valley. His coach, Mike Swearingen, saw he had potential to make it in the NFL and played an integral role in making Thomas' name known to a good number of colleges. He is the younger brother of former NFL offensive tackle Stan Thomas.

College career

Thomas attended UCLA, where he was a history major and played for the UCLA Bruins football team from 1998 to 2001. As a freshman in 1998, Thomas was a reserve inside linebacker making 26 tackles (two for losses), and playing in all 12 games. The next season Thomas was a starter, he had 68 tackles despite missing three games. As a junior, in 2000, he was named UCLA's Defensive Most Valuable Player and was a Second-team All-Pacific-10 after leading the team with 88 tackles (9 for losses) and forced six fumbles. As a senior in 2001, Thomas led the Bruins with 111 (26 for a loss) tackles and had 6.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and defensed 5 passes. He was an All-American, All-Pac 10 and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.

Awards and honors

• Second-team All-Pac-10 (2000)
• Butkus Award semifinalist (2000)
• First-team All-Pac-10 (2001)
• Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (2001)
• Consensus first-team All-American (2001)
• Butkus Award finalist (2001)
• Lombardi Award semifinalist (2001)

Professional career

Pre-draft

St. Louis Rams

He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams 31st overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. On July 22, 2002, Thomas signed a five-year $5.75 million contract with the Rams. Thomas started 30 games during his three seasons in St. Louis while totaling 163 tackles in those games.

Green Bay Packers

St. Louis traded Thomas to the Green Bay Packers at the end of training camp on September 4, 2005, for cornerback Chris Johnson. Thomas started nine games at weak-side linebacker in 2005. On May 2, 2006, the Packers released Thomas.

Oakland Raiders

On August 24, 2006 Thomas signed with Oakland Raiders, and he played in all 16 games in 2006, with no starts. On February 24, 2007, the Raiders re-signed Thomas, who was eligible to be a free agent. The deal included $1.5 million signing bonus and a $1.5 million salary for 2007 and $2 million in salary in 2008. He started 10 games for the Raiders in 2007 but appeared in just two in 2008 before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons on November 2, 2008.

Washington Redskins

On April 9, 2009, the Redskins signed Thomas to a one-year $1.3 million contract. On Sunday, September 9, 2009, he was released by the Redskins after the final preseason game and is currently a free agent.

External links

• Official Website
• Green Bay Packers bio
• Oakland Raiders bio
• UCLA Bruins bio
• Washington Redskins bio