Tavierre Thomas

American football player (born 1996)

American football player

Tavierre Thomas

Thomas with the Cleveland Browns in 2019

No. 37 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Position:

Special teamer
Cornerback

Personal information

Born:

(1996-03-11) March 11, 1996 (age 28)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Height:

5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Weight:

205 lb (93 kg)

Career information

High school:

Allen Academy
(Detroit, Michigan)

College:

Ferris State

Undrafted:

2018

Career history

Arizona Cardinals (2018)*
Cleveland Browns (2018–2020)
Houston Texans (2021–2023)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024–present)

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Roster status:

Active

Career highlights and awards

2× First-team Division II All-American (2016, 2017)
2x First-team All-GLIAC (2016, 2017)

Career NFL statistics as of 2023

Total tackles:	225
Sacks:	1.0
Forced fumbles:	6
Fumble recoveries:	2
Pass deflections:	6
Interceptions:	2
Defensive touchdowns:	1
Return yards:	234

Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Tavierre Thomas (born March 11, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ferris State.

Early years

Thomas was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan and attended Detroit Allen Academy. As a senior, Thomas received recruiting interest from Iowa, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan but was not offered a scholarship by any Division I program due to a low ACT score despite graduating high school with a 3.8 grade point average. Thomas ultimately decided to enroll at Ferris State University on an academic scholarship.^[1]

College career

Thomas played four seasons with the Ferris State Bulldogs, initially joining the team as a walk-on. Although he initially intended to redshirt his freshman season and then transfer to a Division I program after meeting academic standards, Thomas eventually opted to play the final five games of the season after an injury to one of the team's starting defensive backs.^[1] Thomas was named one of the Bulldogs' starting cornerbacks going into his sophomore year and recorded 48 tackles with three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.^[2] In his junior season, he intercepted a career-high six passes with 15 passes defensed in 15 starts was named first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and first-team Division II All-America, as well as third-team Little All-America by the Associated Press. As a senior, Thomas was again named first-team all-GLIAC and Division II All-America as well as the GLIAC Defensive Back of the Year after recording 60 tackles, four interceptions and had a career-high 18 passes defensed.^[3] Thomas finished his collegiate career with 175 total tackles, 14 interceptions and 35 passes defensed.^[4]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m)	9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m)	4.38 s	1.55 s	2.60 s	4.38 s	7.09 s	33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m)	10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)	13 reps
All values from Pro Day^[5]

Arizona Cardinals

Thomas was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2018 and waived by the team on September 1.^[6]^[7]

Cleveland Browns

On September 2, 2018, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns.^[4]^[8] Thomas made his NFL debut on September 9, 2018 during the Browns season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.^[9] During the Browns' Week 7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Thomas downed a punt by Britton Colquitt inside the Buccaneers one-yard line, setting up a safety by Browns defensive tackle Trevon Coley.^[10] As a rookie Thomas played in 13 games, mostly on special teams, and tied for the team lead with seven special teams tackles (eight overall).^[11] Thomas played in all 16 of the Browns' games in 2019 with nine tackles and a fumble recovery and also returned ten kickoffs for 204 yards.^[12] He blocked a field goal attempt against the San Francisco 49ers on October 7, 2019.^[13]

In Week 1 of the 2020 season against the Baltimore Ravens, Thomas recorded his first career sack on Lamar Jackson during the 38–6 loss.^[14]

Houston Texans

Thomas signed a two-year contract with the Houston Texans on March 22, 2021.^[15] He entered the 2021 season fourth on the Texans cornerback depth chart. In Week 16, Thomas had eight tackles, a pass deflection, and a game-sealing 48-yard pick-six in a 41-29 upset win over the Chargers, earning American Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week.^[16]

On September 1, 2022, Thomas was placed on injured reserve.^[17] He was activated on November 3.^[18]

Thomas re-signed with the Texans on March 17, 2023.^[19]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 18, 2024, Thomas signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b Birkett, Dave (March 22, 2018). "Ferris State CB Tavierre Thomas on NFL radars as draft approaches". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
^ Spezia, Mark (November 30, 2017). "Tavierre Thomas goes from walk-on to All-American at Ferris State". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
^ Root, Jess (June 16, 2018). "Cardinals undrafted rookie profile: CB Tavierre Thomas". Cards Wire. USA Today. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Tavierre Thomas". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
^ "2018 Draft Scout Tavierre Thomas, Ferris State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com.
^ Urban, Darren (April 30, 2018). "Cardinals Bring In 24 Undrafted Rookies". AZCardinals.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
^ Urban, Darren (September 1, 2018). "Cardinals Make Cuts To Reach 53-Man Roster". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
^ Gribble, Andrew (September 2, 2018). "Browns claim 5 players in latest moves to reshaped 53-man roster". ClevelandBrowns.com.
^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 9th, 2018-Snap counts". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
^ Watkins, Jimmy (October 21, 2018). "9 Key Moments: Browns squander opportunities, can't overcome mistakes against Buccaneers". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
^ Pluto, Terry (February 26, 2019). "Cleveland Browns: Talkin' Kareem Hunt, special teams". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
^ Greetham, Fred (July 20, 2020). "Biggest Position Battles Of Training Camp: Cornerback Depth". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
^ Shuck, Barry (October 8, 2019). "Brownies and Frownies: 49ers pummel Cleveland 31-3". DawgsByNature.com. SB Nation. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
^ "Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens - September 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
^ "Houston Texans Transactions (3-22-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^ "Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott lead NFL Players of the Week". NFL.com. December 29, 2021.
^ "Houston Texans Transactions (9-1-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. September 1, 2022.
^ "Houston Texans Transactions (11-3-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. November 3, 2022.
^ "Houston Texans Transactions (3-17-2023)". HoustonTexans.com. March 17, 2023.
^ Smith, Scott (March 18, 2024). "Bucs Sign Slot Corner Tavierre Thomas". Buccaneers.com.