# William Thomas (linebacker)

William Harrison Thomas (born August 13, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1991–1999) and Oakland Raiders (2000–2001) franchises.
Thomas attended Palo Duro High School and later played college football at Texas A&M University for the Aggies. After college, Philadelphia selected Thomas in the fourth round, 104th overall in the 1991 NFL draft. He played for the Eagles in nine NFL seasons. His most notable seasons were in 1995 and 1996 which he was selected as a member of the NFC's Pro Bowl team. After his Eagles contract expired, Thomas signed with the Oakland Raiders which were coached by former Eagles assistant, Jon Gruden.
Thomas ended his career with 37 sacks and 27 interceptions and is a member of the 20/20 Club. He was also known as an exceptional pass-coverage linebacker during his career.
Thomas was a member of the coaching staff at La Salle University as a volunteer assistant during the 2007 season.
Thomas formerly resided in the southern New Jersey area with his wife and three sons. As of 2021, he is now divorced and resides in Pennsylvania.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| | Led the league |
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1991 | PHI | 16 | 7 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | PHI | 16 | 15 | 94 | 94 | 0 | 1.5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1993 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 107 | 107 | 0 | 6.5 | 2 | 39 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 87 | 60 | 27 | 6.0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 74 | 62 | 12 | 2.0 | 7 | 104 | 1 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 71 | 54 | 17 | 5.5 | 3 | 47 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 1 |
| 1997 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 80 | 59 | 21 | 5.0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 1 |
| 1998 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 86 | 62 | 24 | 2.0 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | PHI | 14 | 13 | 81 | 59 | 22 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 2000 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 78 | 69 | 9 | 1.0 | 6 | 68 | 1 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | OAK | 16 | 15 | 88 | 64 | 24 | 3.0 | 3 | 46 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| | | 172 | 160 | 886 | 730 | 156 | 37.0 | 27 | 347 | 2 | 46 | 10 | 12 | 82 | 2 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 1992 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 0 |
| 1995 | PHI | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | PHI | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | OAK | 2 | 2 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | 9 | 9 | 38 | 29 | 9 | 2.0 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 0 |