Solomon Thomas

Solomon Christopher Thomas (born August 26, 1995) is an American football defensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Solomon Thomas
refer to caption
Thomas with San Francisco 49ers in 2017
No. 94 – New York Jets
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1995-08-26) August 26, 1995
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:Coppell (Coppell, Texas)
College:Stanford (2014–2016)
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2022
Total tackles:135
Sacks:9.5
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 26, 1995. Thomas and his family moved to Sydney, Australia when he was two years old, where he lived for five years.[1] He attended Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas. He had 78 tackles and 12.5 sacks as a senior and 89 tackles with 8.5 sacks as a junior. He was rated as a four-star recruit and was ranked among the top players in his class.[2] He committed to Stanford University to play college football.[3]

College career

After redshirting his first year at Stanford in 2014, Thomas played in all 14 games in 2015, starting six, and had 39 total tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss, and 3.5 sacks.[4][5] In recognition of his successful 2015 season, he was named as an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection. In 2016, Thomas played and started all 13 games and had 62 total tackles with 15.0 TFL and 8.0 sacks. Thomas was named first team All-Pac-12 and won the Morris Trophy.[6][7] Following the 2016 season, Thomas declared his intentions to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

College statistics
Season Games TacklesTFLSackFF
2015 143910.53.50
2016 136215.081
Career2710125.511.51

Professional career

Combine

Coming out of Stanford, Thomas was projected to be a first round pick by the majority of analysts and scouts.[8] He was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but only chose to participate in the bench, 40-yard dash, vertical, and broad jump. On March 23, 2017, Thomas attended Stanford's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. He was ranked the second best defensive end (behind Myles Garrett) by NFLDraftScout.com, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated.[9][10]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in
(1.90 m)		 273 lb
(124 kg)		 33 in
(0.84 m)		 9+3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		4.69 s1.66 s4.28 s6.95 s35 in
(0.89 m)		10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m)		30 reps
All values from NFL Combine[8]

San Francisco 49ers

Thomas was drafted third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2017 NFL Draft.[11][12] He became the third consecutive defensive end drafted in the first round by the 49ers, joining Arik Armstead (2015) and DeForest Buckner (2016). The man who drafted Thomas—newly appointed 49ers general manager John Lynch—coincidentally studied alongside Thomas as a mature student while working as a broadcaster for FOX Sports, and counselled Thomas to leave Stanford without knowing he would be in a position to draft him as a member of the 49ers front office the following season.[13]

On July 28, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers signed Thomas to a fully guaranteed four-year, $28.14 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $18.61 million.[14] He played in 14 games as a rookie with 12 starts, recording 41 tackles and three sacks.

On May 1, 2020, the 49ers declined the fifth-year option on Thomas' contract, making him a free agent in 2021.[15] During the 49ers' Week 2 matchup against the New York Jets, Thomas suffered a torn ACL and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[16][17]

Las Vegas Raiders

Thomas signed a one-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders on March 19, 2021.[18] He played in all 17 games, recording 34 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.

New York Jets

On March 30, 2022, Thomas signed with the New York Jets.[19] He was named a backup defensive tackle behind Quinnen Williams, Sheldon Rankins, and Nathan Shepherd. He played in all 17 games, recording 26 tackles, while playing 33% of snaps.

Thomas re-signed with the Jets on March 18, 2023.[20]

References
  1. "2017 NFL Draft: San Francisco 49ers select Australian-raised giant Solomon Thomas as third overall pick". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. April 28, 2017. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  2. "Solomon Thomas, 2014 Strongside Defensive End, Stanford". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  3. "Recruit uses live tree, nerd glasses to tell us he's going to Stanford". Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  4. "Solomon Thomas leading Stanford defensive line through transition". March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  5. "Instead of Christian McCaffrey, is Stanford's best player DE Solomon Thomas?". October 20, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  6. "McCaffrey, Thomas named first team all-Pac-12 football". Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  7. "Stanford's Thomas named Pac-12's Morris Trophy winner". Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  8. "Combine Player Profiles – Solomon Thomas". National Football League. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  9. Jeff Legwold (April 22, 2017). "Ranking the 2017's draft top 100 players". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  10. Chris Burke (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL Draft Rankings: Top by Position". si.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  11. Wesseling, Chris (April 27, 2017). "Niners select Solomon Thomas with third pick". NFL.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  12. Lyles, Harry (April 28, 2017). "Solomon Thomas can be next Michael Bennett for the 49ers". SB Nation. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  13. "2017 NFL Draft: John Lynch and Solomon Thomas took a Stanford class together". Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  14. "Spotrac.com: Solomon Thomas contract". Spotrac.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  15. "49ers decline fifth-year option on DL Solomon Thomas". www.nfl.com. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  16. Rapp, Timothy. "49ers' Solomon Thomas' Injury Diagnosed as Torn ACL, Will Miss Rest of Season". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  17. "49ers Announce Roster Moves". www.49ers.com. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  18. Raiders Public Relations (March 19, 2021). "Raiders sign DT Solomon Thomas". Raiders.com. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  19. Greenberg, Ethan (March 30, 2022). "Jets Sign DL Solomon Thomas". NewYorkJets.com.
  20. Greenberg, Ethan (March 18, 2023). "Jets Re-Sign Solomon Thomas". NewYorkJets.com.
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