KC Chiefs: Recent injury could be end of De’Anthony Thomas’ career
The KC Chiefs put De’Anthony Thomas on injured reserve on Friday with a leg injury. This might be the end of his career, at least with the Chiefs.
Year after year, the Kansas City Chiefs have surprised us by keeping De’Anthony Thomas on the team. When the Chiefs selected Thomas in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it appeared he’d a great offensive weapon, but things haven’t exactly gone down that way.
Thomas has amassed 64 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns through the air and 29 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns on the ground throughout his five seasons with the Chiefs. He was going to be a legitimate offensive weapon in year one, used in both the passing and rushing game, but shone more brightly as a receiver and special teamer.
Thomas’ career high in receiving yards was 156, which he did as a rookie in 2014. As far as rushing yards, his career high has been just 113 yards, which he also did as a rookie. Thomas also added a punt return for a touchdown to his stats in his rookie year.
The Chiefs lost WR De'Anthony Thomas, who was stepped on at practice and broke the same leg he fractured in the final regular season game.
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) October 12, 2018
Since then, Thomas has not only been ineffective on the field, but he’s been banged up a lot. Once the KC Chiefs drafted Tyreek Hill, they found a player that they wanted Thomas to be (and then some), as Hill has gone on to become the team’s best weapon, or at least one of their best weapons.
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Thomas had a career high in touchdowns in 2015 with two (one rushing, one receiving) and matched that total in 2017. Thomas had found the end zone once this season before being knocked out for what likely will be the entire season with a leg injury.
With Thomas landing on the injured reserve and this being the fifth year of his deal, it’s unlikely that the Chiefs offer him a new contract this offseason. He’s not a starter and hasn’t lived up to the hype of what the Chiefs were expecting when they made him their fourth round pick in 2014.
While Thomas could continue to play elsewhere, the Chiefs don’t really have a need for him anymore. They have plenty of weapons on offense and Thomas’ injury history has held him back from making a real impact throughout his young career.
The whole De’Anthony Thomas experiment has been a weird one for the Kansas City Chiefs, but it will more than likely be coming to an end here shortly. Hopefully Thomas can continue playing somewhere, but he’s not a fit with the Chiefs anymore.