A 2020 unrestricted free agent signee, Thomas was a rotational WR and special teamer during Cincinnati's run to Super Bowl LVI ... Played in 12 regular-season games (one start) and all four postseason games in 2021 ... Five catches for 52 yards on offense during the 2021 regular season, and three tackles and a FF on special teams ... Spent his first four NFL seasons with the L.A. Rams, where in 2017 his assistant WRs coach was Zac Taylor ... Originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Rams in 2016 ... Enters 2022 with 62 career games played (two starts), and 28 catches for 328 yards and a TD ... Also has KOR experience (all with the Rams), with 10 career returns for 195 yards ... Listed on Cincinnati's roster as Mike D. Thomas to differentiate from Bengals S Michael J. Thomas.
Career transactions: Selected by L.A. Rams in sixth round of 2016 NFL Draft (206th overall) ... Signed with Rams on 6-10-16 ... Rams contract expired on 3-18-20; became unrestricted free agent ... Signed as unrestricted free agent with Cincinnati on 3-24-20 ... Bengals contract expired on 3-17-21; became unrestricted free agent ... Re-signed with Bengals as unrestricted free agent on 3-26-21 ... Contract terminated by Bengals on 9-1-21 ... Re-signed with Bengals on 9-1-21 ... Bengals contract expired on 3-16-22; became unrestricted free agent ... Re-signed with Bengals as unrestricted free agent on 3-18-22.
Pro career: 2016—Played in 15 games as a rookie for the Rams ... Inactive Dec. 24 vs. San Francisco ... Caught three passes for 37 yards ... Also had six tackles and a FF on special teams, along with nine kickoff returns for 180 yards ... Returned career-high six kickoffs for 118 yards, including career-long 41-yarder ... Caught first career pass (16 yards from Jared Goff) on Dec. 11 vs. Atlanta. 2017—Played in eight games (one start) for the Rams ... Spent first four games on Reserve/Suspended by Commissioner list for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances ... Spent Game 5 on roster exemption, and was inactive for Games 7-9 ... Totaled five catches for 93 yards ... Had a tackle and a blocked punt on special teams, along with one kickoff return ... On Dec. 10 vs. Philadelphia, blocked a Donnie Jones punt, which was scooped up by the Rams' Blake Countess and returned 16 yards for a TD ... Made first career start on Dec. 31 vs. San Francisco, and notched three receptions for a career-high 75 yards, and had a career long 50-yard catch ... Inactive for Wild Card Playoff vs. Atlanta. 2018—Played in one game (no statistics) for the Rams ... Saw action in Game 1, inactive for Game 2, then placed on Reserve/Injured prior to Game 3 (Sept. 18). 2019—Played in all 16 games for the Rams, and caught two passes for 14 yards ... Recorded two tackles on special teams, along with one punt return for three yards. 2020—Played in 14 games (no starts) for Bengals ... Inactive for Games 10-11 (hamstring) ... Saw action on 21.3 percent of offensive snaps, and totaled 13 catches for 132 yards and a TD, along with one rush for one yard ... Also had one special teams tackle ... Caught four passes for 31 yards on Sept. 17 at Cleveland, and scored first career TD on a four-yard pass from Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter ... Caught two passes for season-high 54 yards on Oct. 25 vs. Cleveland. 2021—Played in 12 regular-season games (one start) and all four postseason games for Cincinnati, as Bengals won AFC Championship and advanced to Super Bowl LVI ... Saw action on 142 offensive snaps during the regular season and caught five passes for 52 yards ... Saw 117 snaps on special teams during regular season and had three tackles and a FF ... Started at WR as an injury replacement on Sept. 30 vs. Jacksonville (no statistics) ... Had one catch for 17 yards during postseason, and added three tackles on special teams (tied for second on team) ... Played in Super Bowl LVI vs. L.A. Rams and had one catch for 17 yards along with two special teams tackles.
College: Spent two seasons (2014-15) at Southern Mississippi, after beginning his career at College of Dupage ('12) outside Chicago and Dodge City Community College ('13) in Kansas ... As a senior at Southern Miss, hauled in 71 catches for school-record 1391 yards and 14 TDs ... Had eight 100-yard receiving games as a senior, and caught a TD in each of his final 10 games.
High school/personal: Hometown is Chicago, Ill. ... Attended DuSable High School on the south side of Chicago, where he scored a 29 combined TDs as a junior and senior ... Interdisciplinary Studies major at Southern Mississippi.
