Zach Thomas was one of the biggest, baddest linebackers of his generation, and he did most of his dominating in the aqua and orange.
In 12 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, Thomas recorded 1,640 tackles, 19.5 sacks, 17 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles and seven recovered fumbles. That level of production was good enough to earn him five First-team All-Pro selections, two Second-team All-Pro selections, seven Pro Bowl appearances and a spot on the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s.
Despite all of these achievements, Thomas finds himself outside of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, even though he’s been a finalist in each of the last three years.
Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher thinks it’s time that Thomas gets recognized in Canton. On “The Pat McAfee Show” this week, Urlacher brought up Thomas’ absence and was clearly annoyed with it.
“I’m gonna give you one guy – Zach Thomas,” Urlacher said. “How the [expletive] is Zach Thomas not in the Hall of Fame. Put his stats up with mine, Ray [Lewis], any other linebacker who’s even close to the Hall of Fame or been in the Hall of Fame. He’s right there with us, if not better in every category… It pisses me off. Every year I advocate for him to get in, and he was a finalist a couple years, but they don’t put him in. I don’t understand.”
Urlacher then followed up with a tweet early Thursday morning, once again supporting Thomas’ case.
Induct Zach Thomas! https://t.co/FYSScyQnI4
— Brian Urlacher (@BUrlacher54) June 16, 2022
If one of the best linebackers of the generation is saying that Thomas was just as good if not better than any of the other guys that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he should probably get in.