It has been a heck of a year so far for Chad Thomas.
The defensive end suffered a neck injury during a team drill in August and had to be removed on a backboard. Thankfully, the injury proved to be a neck sprain and Thomas recovered quickly enough to make the team’s opening day roster.
Playing time was scarce through the season’s first 10 games as Thomas was never going to supplant starting defensive ends Myles Garrett or Vernon Olivier for significant time on the field.
That started to change in recent weeks, however, as first Olivier went down with a knee injury against the Denver Broncos on November 3, and then Garrett was handed an indefinite suspension following the November 14 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.