HOUSTON – Tavierre Thomas’ return from a quadriceps injury did more than provide the defense and special teams with an experienced defensive back.
His presence injects a physical nature and grit into a beleaguered defense that has allowed the most rushing yards per game through eight games in the league.
Recommended Videos
A former walk-on who earned a scholarship and became an All-American at Ferris State in Michigan, Thomas is an outstanding tackler who plays the game with an enthusiastic, infectious style.
He didn’t start against the Philadelphia Eagles during a 29-17 loss Thursday, but he played 11 snaps on defense (17 percent of the overall playing time) and 20 snaps on special teams (87 percent of the kicking game snaps). He finished with two tackles.
Going forward, the Texans plan to have Thomas contribute as a nickel back along with starting nickel Desmond King.
“First off, just excited about getting Tavierre back into the mix,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said. “One of the toughest guys on our team, plays hard, everything we’re about is who he is. Now, we’ve got to work to get him back into the mix. Desmond King can play some different things, too.
“He can play nickel, he can play some corner and our plan of what we’re trying to do is play multiple guys at all positions, defensively. We’ll find a way to get him back but it’s good to see playing some nickel, being a gunner on the punt team and we’ll get him more and more.”
Thomas’ training camp injury represented a setback to the Texans’ defense and special-teams units.
Thomas had a career-high 86 tackles and two interceptions last season in 16 games with one forced fumble. He played 56 percent of the defensive snaps and 67 percent of the special teams’ snaps.
Signed to a two-year, $4 million contract last year that includes $2 million guaranteed with a $1 million signing bonus, Thomas started a career-high three games last season.
The former undrafted free agent from Ferris State had a breakthrough season last year for the Texans and consistently drew praise from Smith.
Now, he’s back on the field, and Smith and Thomas couldn’t be happier about his medical recovery.
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
