HOUSTON – Tavierre Thomas endured a slow burn during his months on injured reserve, biding his time until he had fully recovered from a strained quadriceps suffered during training camp.
As tough as it was on the Texans’ veteran nickel back to be sidelined, Thomas wasn’t left out even while he wasn’t physically able to play.
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Texans coach Lovie Smith wanted Thomas around and made sure that he was a part of the team on a daily basis.
“It was terrible, but Lovie, the coaching staff, and the trainers got me right,” Thomas said. “They kept me involved with the team. I was on the sideline helping as much as I could. I was not at home while the game was playing, so I was happy about that. I was not out there physically, but I was out there mentally on the sideline.”
That entailed Thomas giving tips to teammates, including longtime friend and fellow nickel back Desmond King, and being physically present. He wanted to be around, and Smith ensured that he was.
“Me and Lovie are really close,” Thomas said. “We talk every day, all day. He teaches me stuff during football and outside of football with my family. I just listen to him, read my keys and play as hard as I can because if you play hard for Lovie, he’s going to do a lot for you. That’s the goal with me.
“Lovie was like, ‘No, you’re going to the game. You’re part of this thing. You’ve got to be there.’ And I was just there. I was happy to be there and happy I could help. Like Des, Des has been playing really well, so I was helping him, and he was helping me. I was learning stuff mentally. I’m just happy I was a part of it.”
During the 1-6-1 Texans’ lone victory, a road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Thomas recognized a tendency to throw over the middle. That helped King bat away a pass on fourth down.
“Just really talking to the guys when I’m seeing stuff on the sideline,” Thomas said. “The coaches are all the way high up in the press box, so just helping them if I see certain formations. Because I’m still watching film, I was seeing certain formations. I’ll be on the sideline screaming, ‘Des Charger, Charger, Charger!’ It’s like I was mad I wasn’t out there, but at the same time I learned a lot while being out.”
Thomas put all of that into practice last Thursday night during his season debut against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles.
He recorded two tackles in his first action of the year.
Going forward, the Texans plan to have Thomas as a nickel back along with King.
“First off, just excited about getting Tavierre back into the mix,” Smith said. “One of the toughest guys on our team, plays hard, everything we’re about is who he is. Now, we’ve got to work to get him back into the mix. Desmond King can play some different things, too.
“He can play nickel, he can play some corner and part of our plan of what we’re trying to do is play multiple guys at all positions, defensively. We’ll find a way to get him back but it’s good to see playing some nickel, being a gunner on the punt team and we’ll get him more and more.”
Thomas didn’t start during a 29-17 loss, but he played 11 snaps on defense (17 percent of the overall playing time) and 20 snaps on special teams (87 percent of the kicking game snaps).
More playing time awaits Thomas as he gets acclimated to playing again.
“Oh yeah, I knocked off a lot of rust,” Thomas said. “I had not tackled anybody since last year, so to get a tackle out there, I was hype, I was having fun. I’m mad we didn’t get the win, but I’m happy I can be back out there to try and help us get the win.”
Thomas recorded a career-high 86 tackles last season, with one forced fumble and two interceptions, returning one for a touchdown in a win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Thomas’ return from a quadriceps injury did more than provide the defense and special teams with an experienced defensive back.
His presence injects a physical nature and grit into a beleaguered defense that has allowed the most rushing yards per game through eight games in the league.
“It felt great,” Thomas said. “I was happy to be back out there trying to help us get a win. Now I’ll be back on defense a lot more. Hopefully, I light a spark and everyone gets behind me and just go win.”
A former walk-on and Detroit native who earned a scholarship and became an All-American at Ferris State in Michigan, Thomas is an outstanding tackler who plays the game with an enthusiastic, infectious style.
Signed to a two-year, $4 million contract last year that includes $2 million guaranteed with a $1 million signing bonus, Thomas started a career-high three games last season.
Thomas’ first name is frequently mispronounced.
It’s actually pronounced TAV-ee-air instead of TAH-vee-air.
It was Texans safeties coach Joe Danna who initially noticed that Thomas wasn’t correcting anyone about how to properly pronounce his first name.
“(Smith) finally found out how to pronounce my name correctly,” Thomas said. “It never bothered me. He always used to say Tavierre. My grandma called me and my son Tavierre, so it was always that it didn’t matter. But now every time I say Tavierre and every time he says Tavierre, he’s like, ‘You’re not going to correct me?’ So, I’ve been having to correct him on that. But me and him have been really close. I’m just happy with the relationship that we do have.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com