fringe Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Thomas free to sign with another team By Mike Reiss ESPNBoston.com ArchiveLinebacker Adalius Thomas was released by the Patriots on Monday, according to an NFL source, ending a three-year tenure that started with promise and concluded with Thomas publicly sparring with the club. Reiss: A lesson in 'buyer beware' Both the Patriots and Adalius Thomas share the accountability for his situation in New England going downhill in a hurry. Mike Reiss Thomas was the highest-priced free-agent acquisition in team history, signing a five-year, $35 million contract in 2007, but he turned out to be one of the biggest personnel missteps in Bill Belichick's 11-year tenure. In the end, it was a pairing in which both sides didn't get what they felt was advertised. Thomas had issues with his role, expecting to be used as more of a pure pass rusher, while the Patriots were disappointed with Thomas' production and presence in the locker room. The 32-year-old Thomas wasn't expected back with the Patriots in 2010. The main question was whether he would be released or traded, and his $4.9 million base salary for 2010 made a trade unlikely. Given the timing of the release, it appears the Patriots tried to trade Thomas during the draft and when nothing materialized, they went ahead with the release. Thomas' final season in New England was a rocky one, highlighted by his benching for a game against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 18, and then being sent home with three other players for being late to an 8 a.m. meeting on a snowy, icy December morning. That contrasted the early days of Thomas' tenure, when he printed "Humble Pie" T-shirts and distributed them to teammates as a sign of how he was buying in to the Patriots' approach. The 32-year-old Thomas played in 39 regular-season games for the Patriots, with 35 starts, totaling 148 tackles and 14.5 sacks. He is now a free agent and figures to draw consideration from the New York Jets. Thomas thrived under Jets head coach Rex Ryan when Ryan was the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator and Thomas was his star linebacker. Adalius Thomas Jets linebacker Bart Scott said on "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on ESPN Radio in March that Thomas would like to play for the Jets if he were released by New England. "It's funny," Scott said. "I was hanging with Adalius Thomas for Super Bowl weekend. We're buddies from back in the day. He made it public that he's expressed an interest in joining Rex. I think some of his better years of his career have been a part of the Ravens' defense and under Rex Ryan's tutelage. It'll be exciting." Thomas later told the Boston Herald that conversation never happened and that he had never discussed joining the Jets with Scott. "I've heard of all the chatter up there about me," Thomas wrote the Herald. "It was about something Bart Scott said on TV, [and] that's not what was said . . . I have never told anyone that I wanted to leave and go play for the Jets." Thomas told Boston radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub in February that he wasn't sure whether he would be released but said he wanted to play "somewhere where I'm wanted and where I'm going to have fun. That's where I want to be." He stopped short of saying he felt unwanted in New England, but told 98.5: "I definitely didn't have fun. It was definitely a frustrating year as far as that goes." Mike Reiss covers the Patriots for ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 lorio on April 26, 2010 9:28 AM ETRecently, plenty of players have been signing their restricted free agency tenders. Now, one team has decided to go in the other direction. The Jaguars have withdrawn the offer given previously to linebacker Clint Ingram, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Ingram recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. He had been offered a one-year, $1.266 million contract. The Jaguars drafted four defensive lineman over the weekend, but no linebackers. (But, as Rosenthal has reminded me, they traded for former Raiders stalwart Kirk Morrison -- which should have prompted Ingram to immediately ink his tender.) A four-year veteran, Ingram started 12 games in 2009. He's now free to sign with any team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Don't know too much about Ingram, but I'd take Adalius Thomas. He's a bit outspoken and his best days are clearly behind him... but he'd add fire and an identity to a LB corps that currently had none. Anyone know anything about Ingram? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 Does New England play a 3-4 or a 4-3? I'm guessing 3-4 if he thought himself strictly a pass rusher. That would not work for the Gmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 Does New England play a 3-4 or a 4-3? I'm guessing 3-4 if he thought himself strictly a pass rusher. That would not work for the Gmen. a 3-4 and he played like shit outside of baltimore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted April 26, 2010 Author Share Posted April 26, 2010 a 3-4 and he played like shit outside of baltimore. nah, his first year and a half was by no means shit in NE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMFP Posted April 26, 2010 Share Posted April 26, 2010 A disgruntled guy, and a guy coming off a knee injury.....sounds like Giants to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigblue25 Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Adalius Thomas is Justin Tuck's cousin, I think he goes to the other NY team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fringe Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 Adalius Thomas is Justin Tuck's cousin, I think he goes to the other NY team. that's the popular thought. jets or fins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Jets. Which washed-up former perennial Pro Bowler HAVEN'T they signed this offseason? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Jets. Which washed-up former perennial Pro Bowler HAVEN'T they signed this offseason? they're pulling all the stops to get to the next level. Allegedly their owner thinks the GIants are "Yesterday's news"... I guess 3 super bowls all in our life time compared to one around the great depression with a dose of delusion would do that to a multi-millionaire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Webster Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 thomas will be a jet in the next two weeks.......anybody wanna take that bet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 thomas will be a jet in the next two weeks.......anybody wanna take that bet? Me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 I'd pass, our linebacker core is solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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