Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas has emerged as one of many undrafted free agent gems on this Super Bowl roster, although in his case he was not originally signed by John Schneider.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the Las Vegas Raiders waived Thomas during final roster cuts, which was seen as a surprise given how impressive he looked in preseason. The Seahawks claimed Thomas off waivers, and while his rookie season ended prematurely due to a knee injury, he stuck around when Mike Macdonald was hired to replace Pete Carroll.<\/p>\n
Speaking with Field Gulls earlier in the week, the former NC State star pushed back on the idea that the Raiders letting him go was a surprise, although something else did surprise him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said it was surprising, I wasn\u2019t really surprised with just the way things were over there,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cSo it wasn\u2019t really unexpected. But to be claimed by Pete Carroll and the Seahawks, that was a little bit unexpected but it was super exciting. My first year was a lot of fun being able to be in Seattle under Pete Carroll and learn from a lot of veteran guys. And to be still here it\u2019s been a huge blessing, I\u2019m just really thankful to be part of this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being undrafted (and in Thomas\u2019 case, considered undersized at 5\u201911\u201d) can create that \u201cchip on the shoulder\u201d mentality for a lot of NFL players, but Thomas says that isn\u2019t the case for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, personally, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m really looking to prove anybody wrong, necessarily,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI don\u2019t try to hold that against anybody. Everybody one has their own opinions and everyone has the right to their own coming out of the draft. I get the measurables thing and all that, but I just want to go out there and be there for my teammates and execute what my coaches put in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n