Ian Thomas (American football)

Ian Thomas (born June 6, 1996) is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Indiana, and was selected by the Panthers in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Early years
Thomas's mother Martha died due to liver and kidney failure before Thomas was nine. His father died a year later due to a heart attack.

College career
Thomas graduated from Nassau Community College in 2016, and joined Indiana for his junior year. Thomas played all 13 games during his first year at Indiana, acting as a blocking tight end and recording only three catches. During his senior year, after a game against Georgia Southern, in which he had a 71-yard touchdown, Thomas was named the Mackey Award Tight End of the Week. As a senior, Thomas had 25 receptions for 376 yards and five touchdowns.

Following his senior season at Indiana, Thomas was invited to the 2018 Senior Bowl.

Professional career
On November 21, 2017, it was reported that Thomas has accepted his invitation to play in the 2018 Senior Bowl. Thomas helped his draft stock by impressing scouts during Senior Bowl practices. On January 27, 2018, Thomas played in the Reese's Senior Bowl and was part of Houston Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien's South team that defeated the North 45–16. He participated at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and performed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the bench press due to a pre-existing shoulder injury.

On April 3, 2018, Thomas attended Indiana's pro day, but chose to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills. He also attended private meetings and workouts with the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, his draft projections by NFL draft experts and scouts varied from as early as the second round to as late as the seventh round. The majority of experts projected him to be drafted in the second or third round. Thomas was also ranked as the fifth best tight end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and CBS Sports and was ranked the sixth best tight end by Scouts Inc.

The Carolina Panthers selected Thomas in the fourth round with the 101st overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the sixth tight end drafted in 2018.

On May 10, 2018, the Panthers signed Thomas to a four-year, $3.20 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $747,994. He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys. In the 16–8 victory, he had four receiving yards on his first two career receptions. In Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons, he scored his first professional touchdown on a one-yard reception from quarterback Taylor Heinicke. In his rookie season, he appeared in all 16 games and started six of them. He totaled 36 receptions for 333 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

In the 2019 season, Thomas appeared in all 16 games, of which he started three. He totaled 16 receptions for 136 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

On February 25, 2022, Thomas signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension with the Panthers.

On October 14, 2023, Thomas was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. He was activated on November 18.

Personal life
On February 28, 2022, it was announced that Thomas would be facing five misdemeanor charges: reckless driving, operation of a vehicle that is not insured, attempt to flee/elude arrest, failure to heed light or siren, and driving with a revoked license. The charges stemmed from an incident in which Thomas and an unidentified driver of a red ATV were pulled over for not having license plates after which Thomas left the scene before being stopped and arrested.