64 Facts About Earl Thomas

Earl Winty Thomas III was born on May 7,1989 and is an American former professional football player who was a free safety in the National Football League.

Earl Thomas was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Earl Thomas played college football at Texas and received consensus All-American honors.

Earl Thomas attended West Orange-Stark High School in Orange, Texas, where he played for the West Orange-Stark Mustangs high school football team.

Earl Thomas recorded 112 career tackles with 11 interceptions, two kickoff return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns, while having 1,850 rushing yards and 2,140 receiving yards in his career.

Earl Thomas attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played for coach Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns football team from 2007 to 2009.

Earl Thomas had two interceptions, four forced fumbles, and a blocked kick.

Earl Thomas chose to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at Texas to declare for the 2010 NFL Draft where he was the third defensive back taken after Eric Berry and Joe Haden.

On January 8,2010, Earl Thomas released a statement through the University of Texas which announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

Earl Thomas attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of drills, but chose to skip the short shuttle and three-cone drill.

Earl Thomas sustained a hamstring injury during his workout and was unable to complete his entire performance.

Earl Thomas attended pre-draft visits and private workouts with multiple teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins.

Earl Thomas was the second safety drafted in 2010, behind Eric Berry.

Head coach Pete Carroll named Earl Thomas the starting free safety to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Lawyer Milloy.

Earl Thomas made his first career interception off a pass by Chargers' quarterback Philip Rivers, that was originally intended for tight end Antonio Gates, and returned it for a 34-yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Earl Thomas recovered a blocked punt that Kennard Cox blocked by Dustin Colquitt and returned it for a ten-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Earl Thomas started all 16 games during his rookie season in 2010 and recorded 76 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, five interceptions, and a forced fumble.

Earl Thomas entered training camp slated as the starting free safety.

On December 27,2011, it was announced that Earl Thomas was selected to play in the 2012 Pro Bowl, marking the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.

Earl Thomas finished the season with 98 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, two interceptions, and a forced fumble in 16 games and 16 starts.

Earl Thomas was named second-team All-Pro and was ranked 66th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.

Earl Thomas intercepted a pass by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, that was originally intended for tight end Scott Chandler, and returned it for a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

On December 26,2012, it was announced that Earl Thomas was selected to the 2013 Pro Bowl and was the sole member of the Seahawks' defense to be selected in 2012.

Earl Thomas started in a 16 games in 2012 and recorded 66 combined tackles, nine pass deflections, three interceptions, a forced fumble, and one touchdown.

Earl Thomas was ranked 66th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.

On December 27,2013, it was announced that Earl Thomas was selected to the 2014 Pro Bowl, but was later replaced by Antrel Rolle due to his participation in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Earl Thomas started in all 16 games and recorded a career-high 105 combined tackles.

Earl Thomas earned First Team All-Pro honors for the second consecutive season.

Earl Thomas finished third in voting for AP Defensive Player of the Year.

Earl Thomas was ranked 17th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.

Earl Thomas intercepted a pass by quarterback Eli Manning, that was intended for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

On December 23,2015, Earl Thomas was announced as a selection to play in the 2014 Pro Bowl.

Earl Thomas finished the season with 97 combined tackles, five pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts.

Earl Thomas earned First Team All-Pro honors for the 2014 season.

Earl Thomas was ranked 21st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.

On February 24,2015, Earl Thomas underwent surgery to repair his shoulder injury after he separated it during the NFC Championship Game.

Earl Thomas intercepted a pass by quarterback Cam Newton, that was originally intended for wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, in the first quarter.

On December 22,2015, it was announced that Earl Thomas was voted to the 2016 Pro Bowl, marking his fifth consecutive selection.

Earl Thomas elected not to play in the 2016 Pro Bowl in an attempt to get his body healthy and was replaced by Harrison Smith.

Earl Thomas started in all 16 games in 2015 and recorded 64 combined tackles, nine pass deflections, five interceptions, and one forced fumble.

Earl Thomas was ranked 66th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

Earl Thomas recovered a fumble and returned it for a 34-yard touchdown after Cliff Avril stripped the ball from Saints' running back Mark Ingram II during the first quarter.

Earl Thomas's injury sidelined him for the Seahawks' Week 12 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and became the first game he missed during his career.

Earl Thomas tweeted shortly after the injury that he was considering retirement.

On December 6,2016, the Seattle Seahawks officially placed Earl Thomas on injured reserve.

Earl Thomas finished the 2016 season with 48 combined tackles, a career-high ten pass deflections, two interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown in 11 games and 11 starts.

Earl Thomas had an interception off Aaron Rodgers that was negated by an offsides penalty on defensive end Michael Bennett.

In Week 8, against the Houston Texans, Earl Thomas recorded a 78-yard interception return for a touchdown off Deshaun Watson, the second pick-six of his career.

On December 19,2017, Earl Thomas was named to his sixth Pro Bowl.

At the start of the 2018 season, Earl Thomas did not report to training camp expressing that he would hold out until the Seahawks either renegotiated his current contract or traded him to another team.

On September 9,2018, during the season opener against the Denver Broncos, Earl Thomas recorded an interception from quarterback Case Keenum just five minutes into the game.

Earl Thomas was placed on injured reserve on October 2,2018.

On March 13,2019, Earl Thomas signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens with $32 million guaranteed.

Earl Thomas had agreed in principle to sign a one-year, $12 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs a day earlier; the Chiefs were about to ferry him to Kansas City on a private jet when the Ravens outbid them at the last minute.

Earl Thomas said he pulled up at midfield because he had pulled a hamstring on a similar play during his days in Seattle, and did not want to risk injury.

On October 6,2019, in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Earl Thomas made a helmet-to-helmet hit which knocked Steelers QB Mason Rudolph unconscious.

Earl Thomas earned a Pro Bowl nomination for the 2019 season.

Earl Thomas was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 2010s.

Earl Thomas was ranked 75th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

Earl Thomas's release came after players told coach John Harbaugh and general manager Eric DeCosta that they did not want Thomas back on the team.

Earl Thomas was often fined for skipping meetings or showing up late, and left the team on his own at least twice.

On May 6,2020, it was reported by TMZ that on April 13, Earl Thomas was allegedly held at gunpoint by his wife Nina after she found him and his brother, Seth Earl Thomas, in bed with other women.

Earl Thomas was later granted a restraining order against her husband.

Earl Thomas was arrested in Orange, Texas on May 13,2022.