Deonte Thompson

Deonte Thompson (born February 14, 1989) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Florida, where he was a member of a BCS National Championship team. Thompson was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

For the safety, see Deionte Thompson.
Deonte Thompson
Thompson with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012
Free agent
Position:Wide receiver
Kick returner
Personal information
Born: (1989-02-14) February 14, 1989
Belle Glade, Florida
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Glades Central
(Belle Glade, Florida)
College:Florida
Undrafted:2012
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2018
Receptions:94
Receiving yards:1,193
Receiving touchdowns:4
Return yards:2,179
Return touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Thompson was born in the small agricultural town of Belle Glade, Florida. He attended Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, where he played for the Glades Central Raiders high school football team. As a senior in 2006, he helped lead the Raiders to a Class 3A state football championship with 30 receptions for 504 yards and eight touchdowns, despite missing five games with a foot injury. In the state championship game, he rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns.[1]

Thompson also ran in the 100-meter and 200-meter events for the Glades Central track and field team. He won the 100 meters at the 2007 Western Conference Meet, with a career-best time of 10.47 seconds.[2] In the finals of the 2007 FHSAA 2A Region 4, he earned first place in both the 100 meters and the 200 meters.[3] He ran a career-best time of 21.29 seconds in the 200 meters as a senior.

College career

Thompson accepted a football scholarship to attend the University of Florida, to play under head coach Urban Meyer and coach Will Muschamp's Florida Gators football teams from 2008 to 2011. After red-shirting for the 2007 season, he played in every game in 2008 – a season which culminated in the Gators winning the BCS National Championship.

In 2010, his most productive year, he had 38 receptions, 570 receiving yards, and a touchdown as a junior.[4] As a senior in 2011, he compiled 21 receptions, 264 receiving yards and a touchdown.[4] In four seasons, he totaled 101 catches for 1,446 yards and nine touchdowns.[4]

He was also a member of the Gators track and field team. He placed fifth in the 60-meter dash at the 2009 Tyson Invitational with a time of 6.80 seconds.[5]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)		 198 lb
(90 kg)		 4.31 s 1.50 s 2.51 s 4.40 s 6.96 s 36.5 in
(0.93 m)		 10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)		 20 reps
All values from Central Florida Pro Day.[6]
Thompson (right) and Tommy Streeter at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2012.

Baltimore Ravens

Thompson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Ravens after the 2012 NFL Draft.[7]

He made the team and caught five passes in the regular season, and handled kick return duties for the first five games. Thompson had his best game as a wide receiver in Week 4 of the 2013 season when he caught four passes for 50 yards.

Buffalo Bills

On December 8, 2014, Thompson was signed by the Buffalo Bills. On September 4, 2015, he was waived-injured by the Bills.[8] On September 11, 2015, Thompson was released by the Bills with an injury settlement.[9]

Chicago Bears

On September 22, 2015, Thompson was signed by the Chicago Bears to the practice squad.[10] On November 10, Thompson was promoted to the active roster.[11]

Thompson re-signed with the Bears on a one-year contract on March 24, 2016.[12] On November 27, Thompson caught five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.[13] He recorded his first career touchdown, which was a 6-yard reception from Matt Barkley in the fourth quarter.[14][15] On December 18, Thompson caught eight passes for a career-high 110 yards against the Green Bay Packers.[16] He recorded his first 100-yard game of his career.[17]

On March 21, 2017, Thompson re-signed with the Bears.[18] In Week 2 of the 2017 season, Thompson recorded four receptions for 57 yards and his first touchdown of the 2017 season in the 29–7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[19] Thompson was released by the Bears on October 11.[20]

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On October 17, 2017, Thompson signed with the Buffalo Bills.[21] In his regular season debut with the Bills against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 22, he caught four passes for 107 yards, including a crucial 44 yard pass in the fourth quarter that set up the game-tying touchdown.[22] He also caught a 34-yard pass during a blizzard game against the Indianapolis Colts to set up LeSean McCoy's game-winning touchdown in overtime.[23] Thompson finished the season with career highs in receptions, targets, and receiving yards, also helping Buffalo make the playoffs for the first time since 1999.[24]

Dallas Cowboys

On March 22, 2018, Thompson signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, receiving a $1,000,000 signing bonus and reuniting with new wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal, who had him with the Bills in 2015.[25] He was limited with an Achilles strain from the start of training camp and worked back into practice for the last 2 preseason games. He was waived on September 1, in order to protect wide receiver Noah Brown from waivers. Thompson was re-signed after Brown was placed on the injured reserve list on September 3.[26] Thompson was expected to be a starter as part of a wide-receiver-by-committee approach, that was put in place after the Cowboys released their main wide receiver Dez Bryant on April 13.

He was named a starter alongside Terrance Williams in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers, making 3 receptions for 27 yards. He repeated as a starter in the second game, tallying 4 receptions for 33 yards. He started in the fourth game but didn't have any receptions. He started in the fifth game and had 2 receptions for 19 yards. In the sixth game he returned to a reserve role, after being passed on the depth chart by rookie Michael Gallup. On October 22, the Cowboys traded a 2019 first round draft choice to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for Amari Cooper, to take over the number one receiver role, which also limited Thompson's targets moving forward. He was released on November 9.[27]

Buffalo Bills (third stint)

Thompson was signed by the Buffalo Bills on November 14, 2018.[28] He was declared inactive with a toe injury in the season finale against the Miami Dolphins. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

New York Jets

Thompson was signed by the New York Jets on May 21, 2019.[29] He was released on August 31, 2019.[30]

See also

References
  1. GatorZone.com, Football, 2011 Roster, Deonte Thompson. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  2. http://fl.milesplit.com/meets/23562/results/44415
  3. http://fl.milesplit.com/meets/24506/results/46148
  4. "Deonte Thompson College Statistics". sports-reference.com.
  5. http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=69636#20871
  6. nfldraftscout.com
  7. "Deonte Thompson". kffl.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014.
  8. Brown, Chris (September 4, 2015). "Leodis McKelvin to Reserve/NFI as Bills release 16". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  9. "Bills make four roster moves". BuffaloBills.com. September 11, 2015. Archived from the original on April 10, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  10. Mayer, Larry (September 22, 2016). "Bears promote Fales to active roster". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  11. Campbell, Rich (November 10, 2015). "Bears rookie Tayo Fabuluje suspended four games". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  12. Dickerson, Jeff (March 24, 2016). "Bears re-sign WR/KR Deonte Thompson". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  13. Potash, Mark (November 27, 2016). "Josh Bellamy rues wide-open drop: 'I just missed the opportunity'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  14. "Barkley finds Deonte Thompson for a 6-yard TD on 4th down". NFL.com. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  15. "Deonte Thompson Career Touchdown Log | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  16. LeGere, Bob (December 18, 2016). "Slow start for Bears' Jeffery in return against Packers". Daily Herald. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  17. "Deonte Thompson 100-Yard Receiving Games | The Football Database". FootballDB.com. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  18. Wiltfong, Lester A. (March 21, 2017). "Report: Chicago Bears re-sign Deonte Thompson". WindyCityGridiron.com.
  19. "Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - September 17th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  20. Mayer, Larry (October 11, 2017). "Roster Moves: Bears add Gentry to roster, release Thompson". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018.
  21. Brown, Chris (October 17, 2017). "Bills sign WR Thompson; RB Banyard released". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018.
  22. "Bills rally to beat Bucs 30-27 on late Hauschka field goal". The Associated Press. CBSSports.com. October 22, 2017.
  23. Wawrow, John (December 10, 2017). "Bills frolic in the snow after 13-7 OT win against Colts". Pro32: Head to Head. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  24. "Bills' Deonte Thompson: Pair of grabs in playoff defeat". CBSSports.com. January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  25. Phillips, Rob (March 22, 2018). "Cowboys Add Receiver Depth, Sign Veteran Deonte Thompson To Deal". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  26. Helman, David (September 3, 2018). "Notes: Updating Frederick, Roster Shuffles; More". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  27. Helman, David (November 9, 2018). "Thompson Cut, 2 WRs Added To Active Roster". DallasCowboys.com.
  28. "Bills bring back WR Deonte Thompson". BuffaloBills.com. November 14, 2018.
  29. Lange, Randy (May 21, 2019). "Jets Sign 7th-Year Wideout Deonte Thompson". NewYorkJets.com.
  30. Lange, Randy (August 31, 2019). "Jets Announce 38 Moves to Get Down to 53-Man Roster". NewYorkJets.com.
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