Shaq Thompson

At 30 years old, Shaq Thompson has this physical status:

Shaquille Green Thompson (born April 21, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL).

At Washington, he played college football.

He spent a brief time with the Boston Red Sox as part of the club's rookie team in the Gulf Coast League.

Since being drafted, he has played a hybrid safety/linebacker role for the Panthers.

He is regarded as their "big nickel" and reports mismatches in the pass or run game.

Early years

Thompson, a native of Sacramento, California, attended Grant Union High School, where he was a three-sport star in football, track, and baseball. Rivals.com, Parade and USA Today, and USA Today's first-team All-America, as well as second-team All-America from MaxPreps.com and Sports Illustrated, were cited. He was one of six finalists for the United States Army Player of the Year Award. He was named by The Sacramento Bee as the area's player of the year and also the Delta Valley League Player of the Year. He helped Pacers to a 12-1 overall record as a sophomore. He rushed for 1,882 yards and 25 touchdowns on 164 attempts, leading Grant to an 8-4 record and the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs quarterfinals. In 2011, he was named MVP of the Delta Valley League. He had 57 tackles as a senior while still rushing for 1,134 yards and 15 touchdowns on 120 attempts and passing for 893 yards and eight more touchdowns. After his senior year, he played in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Thompson, a standout baseball player, went beyond football to be a standout baseball player. Thompson was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2012 MLB Draft and spent time with the Sox' rookie-level team in the Gulf Coast League in the summer of 2012. After going 0–39 with 37 strikeouts in 13 games, he decided to put his baseball career on hold and focus on football full-time.

Thompson, a gifted sprinter, worked on track and field for four years. In the 100-meter dash at the 2010 CIF San Joaquin Master Finals, where he came in seventh, he set a personal record of 10.96 seconds. At the 2010 CIF State Track and Field Championships, he came in fifth place in the 200-meter dash (21.69 s). He finished seventh (21.77 s) in the 200 meters at the 2011 CIF State Track and Field Championships, defeating defending state champion Remontay McClain in a sport dominated by defending state champion Remontay McClain.

Thompson was described as a five-star recruiter. He had been rated No. 1 in the United States Top 100. 1 safety and the No. 1 are both guaranteed. Scout.com has the highest overall prospect in the country. He had been ranked No. 1 on the charts as the No. ONE. No. 1 safety in the United States, no. The country's top recruiter and the No. 1 in overall recruits, as well as the No. 1 in national security. Rivals.com has a 1 prospect in the state of California. He was also rated as the No. 1 in the United States. By SuperPrep, the country's top recruit, which also named him the Far West Defensive Player of the Year. He began his journey to Berkeley, Berkeley, before committing to the University of Washington on January 31, 2012.

Personal life

Thompson, a single mother and the youngest of four siblings, was born in Sacramento, California. Syd'Quan, his older brother, was a member of the Denver Broncos.

Thompson revealed on Twitter on October 14, 2019, just hours after the Panthers' 37-26 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London.

Thompson, along with three other players, was placed on the Panthers COVID-19 reserve list on November 27, 2021.

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College career

Thompson competed for the University of Washington from 2012 to 2014, where he played safety, slot corner, linebacker, and running back. He received the Paul Hornung Award as a youth and was named an All-American. Thompson revealed on January 5, 2015 that he would forego his senior season and announce the 2015 NFL Draft.

Thompson, a freshman at the University of Texas, received an honorable mention All-Pac-12 and was selected for the Travis Spring Most Outstanding Freshman award at the team banquet. In his first college game, he was playing nickel back against San Diego State. In a victory over Cal, he made seven tackles, two for loss, and he had a crucial, late interception as he returned 33 yards. He had a good showing at Washington State, accumulating eight tackles, including a sack, and also returning a ball 21 yards.

Thompson played in every game and was not a fan of the Apple Cup at linebacker as a freshman in 2013. He was a heralded mention in All-Pac-12. Chuck Niemi Big Hit Award was given to the team by the narrator. In the victory over Oregon State, where he also had four tackles, he scored on an 80-yard interception return. In the Apple Cup victory over Washington State, he had six tackles. In the Huskies' victory over BYU in the Fight Hunger Bowl, he had eight tackles.

Thompson was given the fifth annual Paul Hornung Award in his last year in Washington, which is given to the country's most versatile player. ESPN, CBS Sports, Scout.com, and SB Nation named him first-team All-America. On January 5, 2015, he revealed that he would forego his senior season and join the 2015 NFL Draft. ESPN, NFL.com, CBS Sports, and Phil Steele named him as a Midseason All-American. Three of the CBS Sports panel's writers named him as the best national defensive player of the year. In 2014, he scored six touchdowns, two as a running back and four on defense (one intercepted and three on defense). By Athlon, he was named as a first-team preseason All-America. He was named in SI's preseason All-America second team. He was also nominated for both the Bednarik (top defensive player) and Paul Hornung (most versatile player) Awards, as well as the Preseason watch list. He appeared in every one of the Huskies' games this season. He notched 15 tackles, including a sack, sparked a fumble, and three carries for 66 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run, in a victory over Eastern Washington. Following a two-touchdown victory over Illinois and a 52-yard fumble return, he became the first Husky to score two defensive touchdowns in the same game this week, the Walter Camp Foundation and Athlon named him national defensive player of the week. He had his third defensive touchdown (and fourth overall) against Stanford, scoring a fumble (that he compelled) 32 yards for a score. He had seven tackles, one for a loss, and sparked another fumble against the Cardinals, including one for a loss. In the victory over Cal, where he had been a game captain, he scored on a 100-yard fumble return. He has one of only four 100-yard plays in University of Washington history (the others were a punt return by Hugh McElhenny and kickoff returns by Paul Arnold and John Ross). Following the Cal game, he had a game-high 11 tackles against the Bears, and Athlon named National Defensive Player of the Week by Athlon, as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. He mostly ran back against Arizona State, gaining 98 yards on 21 attempts on 21 attempts, and he also had two passes for 15 yards. He started at tailback at Colorado, rushing for 174 yards and a touchdown on just 15 passes (11.6-yard average), earning him to be named the team's offensive player of the game after the victory in Boulder. He got off to a slow start at tailback in a straight manner, but there was also a lot of activity on the defense, versus UCLA, when he was a game captain. On 16 attempts against the Bruins, he passed for 100 yards on 16 tackles, while simultaneously notching four tackles. At Arizona, he spent his time on defense and special teams, only on defense and special teams, only with three touchdowns. In the Apple Cup victory over Washington State, he made five tackles. In the Cactus Bowl, he had ten tackles, with half of them being tackled for loss. With four fumble recoveries, he was ranked second in the country. Thompson declared for the 2015 NFL Draft following his junior season.

Professional career

In the first round (25th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers selected Thompson. He was the third outside linebacker, behind Bud Dupree and Shane Ray, and the sixth edge rusher drafted in 2015.

Thompson was signed by the Carolina Panthers to a four-year, $8.80 million deal with seven.17 million as a result and a signing bonus of $4.66 million.

Thompson did not have a chance to attend training camp until Washington's school year ended because of the NFL's ban on rookies, rookies were unable to enroll in training camp until the end of the school year. During preparation camp, he competed for the position as the starting linebacker against A. J. Klein. Thompson, Thomas Davis Sr., and middle linebacker Luke Kuechly were among Head Coach Ron Rivera's selected players.

In the Carolina Panthers' season-opening 20–9 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, he made his professional debut and first career start. In a 27-22 victory over Drew Brees on September 27, 2015, Thompson made his first career sack and tied for a season-high seven combined tackles on him. He had four combined tackles in Week 6 before winning by the Seattle Seahawks by 27–23 due to a knee injury. For the next two games (Weeks 7-8), the knee injury sidelined him. During a 38–10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on January 3, 2016, Thompson tied his season-high with seven combined tackles. He finished his rookie season in 2015 with 50 combined tackles (32 solo), two pass deflections, and a suspension in 14 games and ten starts.

The Panthers finished first in the NFC South with a 15-1 record and were unveiled in the first round. Thompson appeared in his first playoff game and aided on one tackle during the Panthers' 31-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round on January 17, 2016. The Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship the following week. As the Panthers were defeated 24-20 by the Denver Broncos on February 7, 2016, Thompson appeared in Super Bowl 50 and recorded five combined tackles.

Thompson had a knee injury and was forced to miss two games (Week 9-10). In a 28-16 victory over the San Diego Chargers, he made seven combined tackles, finished with a pass, and made his first career interception off of a pass attempt by Philip Rivers. During the Panthers' 33-16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Thompson recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles and deflected a pass. Thompson had 56 combined tackles (39 solo), five pass deflections, and an intercept in 14 games and 12 starts in the 2016 season. Thompson received an overall rating of 85.6 in 2016 and played 533 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

After Sean McDermott left to become the Buffalo Bills' head coach, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks retained Thompson as the starting strongside linebacker. During the 23-3 victory, Brian Hoyer started the Panthers' season-opener at the San Francisco 49ers, recording two solo tackles and a sacking of Brian Hoyer. In their 33-30 victory over the New England Patriots on October 1, 2017, Thompson recorded his season-high ten combined tackles. Since suffering from plantar fasciitis, he missed two games (Week 14-15). He played in 14 games in his career, with a career-high 61 combined tackles (41 solo), two sacks, and one pass deflection in 14, the majority of which were startled. Thompson received a total rating of 77.4, the highest score among all qualifying linebackers in 2017.

Thompson's deal was in force for five years as a result of his early retirement on April 23, 2018. He appeared in 14 games with 11 starts, totaling a career-high 79 tackles and 3.5 sacks. On December 20, 2018, he sustained a shoulder injury in Week 15 and was put on injured reserve.

Thompson also sacked quarterback Deshaun Watson once in Week 4 against the Houston Texans, defeating him 16-10. Thompson sacked Ryan Tannehill once in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans, scoring a team-high 11 tackles and sacking him once more. Thompson announced on December 7, 2019, that he had a four-year, $54.2 million contract extension with the Panthers.

Thompson led the team with 12 tackles, resulted in a scrum on running back Joshua Kelley, and the team regained control after the 21-16 victory. He was released on December 7, 2020, and activated on December 11, 2020.

Thompson converted his jersey number to #7, the number he wore in college, in defiance of the NFL's new jersey numbers.

Thompson restructured in March 2022 in order to free up cap space for the Panthers.

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