A former Clemson star made a big-time play against a future Hall of Famer on Sunday.
In Week 10 of the NFL season, former Tiger edge rusher and current Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Xavier Thomas provided one of the highlights of the Cardinals’ 31-6 home win over the New York Jets, when he strip-sacked Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers on fourth down in the red zone.
Sunday continued the strong play from Thomas in his rookie season. A week earlier, the 6-foot-2, 244-pounder was credited with 1.5 sacks – the first sacks of his young NFL career — in the Cardinals’ Week 9 win over the Chicago Bears.
Thomas was selected by the Cardinals in the fifth round (138th overall) of this year’s NFL Draft following a productive sixth and final season at Clemson in 2023, when he recorded 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-ACC selection (2019 and 2021), Thomas finished his Clemson career (2018-23) with 133 tackles (34.0 for loss), nine pass breakups, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries over 61 games (30 starts). He exited Clemson as one of nine players in school history to play in 60 career games with the Tigers.
Check out his highlight play against Rodgers below:
— Xavier Thomas (@atxlete) November 11, 2024
–Photo courtesy Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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