Xavier Thomas is officially locked in with the Arizona Cardinals.
The former Clemson edge rusher made things official with the Cardinals on Thursday, signing his first NFL contract. Thomas put pen to paper and inked his initial four-year deal with Arizona after being selected in the fifth round (138th overall) of this year’s NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder has had a long journey to where he is now. An explosive talent who earned near-unanimous freshman All-American honors in 2018, Thomas is a story of perseverance.
The former five-star and No. 3 overall national recruit has spoken openly about battling depression, COVID-19 and injuries over the course of his career, during which he overcame plenty of adversity to become a valued veteran leader/impact player.
“Xavier’s had a unique road in that [he was] a high-profile recruit, really burst on the scene. Dave [Cardinals assistant general manager Dave Sears] and I have talked about it – seems like we’ve been watching Xavier for three or four years now,” Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said following the draft.
“But really cool how he really burst on the scene as a young player, kind of dipped down a little bit and then really his senior year, took off and really played really well. Another guy who was at the East-West [Shrine Bowl] game. Really had a good week down there rushing the passer.”
During a productive sixth and final season at Clemson in 2023, Thomas tallied 28 tackles (4.0 for loss), 3.0 sacks, four pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go with a team-high 21 quarterback pressures over 12 games (11 starts).
A two-time all-conference selection (2019 and 2021), Thomas was credited with 133 tackles (34.0 for loss), nine pass breakups, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries over 61 games (30 starts) from 2018-23. He exited Clemson as one of nine players in school history to play in 60 career games with the Tigers.
Ossenfort added that the Cardinals were “comfortable” drafting Thomas after spending time with him during the pre-draft process.
“With Xavier, I think he’s been very open through the process,” Ossenfort said. “Had a great chance to sit down with him at the East-West Game. Our scouts did great work on his background and hearing his story. Like I said, we’ve been scouting Xavier for a couple years now, so we’ve been able to put together those pieces.
“And then I think it finally tied it all together once we were able to bring him in here on a 30 visit and get to spend a day with him and just really figure out what he’s about, what motivates him and what his goals are. And really by the time we got through that day, we were comfortable with adding Xavier to our team.”
–Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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