HOUSTON – When Texans veteran nickel back Tavierre Thomas strained his quadriceps during training camp, it sidelined him on the field and it impacted his life.
Thomas, the Texans’ annual Ed Block Courage Award winner selection, overcame more than the injury. He dealt with the mental strain that coincided with not being able to play football. Thomas relied on his family, his fiance’, his son and the advice and support of team counselor Omar Sesay to get him through a rough patch during which he questioned everything, including his future in football.
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“Some of my close friends were checking in on me and coming up, just being around me because I was really in a bad spot mentally,” Thomas said. “Omar helped me out a lot. He was texting with me and staying with me a lot. I’ve just really had to keep my mental up. My family and my friends got me through it.
“In the 22 years of playing football, I’ve never been hurt and never sat out a game. It was pretty tough for me, but, at the same time, God does not make mistakes, so I just went out there and grinded to get back. I’m just happy to be back.”
For Thomas, now back on the field and voted by his teammates for the award that recognizes players for overcoming adversity, it provided him with a serious reminder about the fragility of football.
“That football can be taken away from you at any point in time,” Thomas said. “Nobody is safe. NFL means not for long, so when you are out there, you’ve got to just go as hard as you can because any play could be your last. I learned that. That was the biggest thing for me. And then figuring out my plan B because I never thought about a plan B. Like if I don’t play football anymore, what should I do? I thought about that and got that together. Those were the main things.”
Plan B? As in other career goals? Yes. Thomas is interested in real estate.
“I’m trying to get into a lot of real estate because I’ve never even thought about anything else outside of football,” Thomas said. “I’m trying Air BnBs and that sort of stuff, so I’m going pretty good now. It was a bad thing that happened to me, but it was a good thing for me as a father and a man in general.”
Thomas missed the first eight games of the regular season on injured reserve.
Since returning, he has played in seven games with three starts and has recorded 26 tackles, two special teams tackles and two forced fumbles.
To win the award was significant for Thomas.
“It means a lot,” Thomas said. “That was the most stressful time of my career, just not playing football. My teammates and the training staff, they helped me get through that. I’m happy they voted for me. I knew nothing about it until they came into the team meeting room. I was pretty happy. I’m happy to be back playing football.”
“I couldn’t run. The biggest thing for me playing DB and special teams, I’ve always been one of the fastest guys. If I can’t do that, then it’s tough for me. I never really played defense until last year, so I never really knew all the techniques. I just know to run faster than everybody and hit hard. I was pretty down when I couldn’t run fast.”
To get back on the field, Thomas had to trust the process.
“It was rehab and time,” he said. “The time portion of it, I felt like I could have come back earlier than I did. But at the same time, I couldn’t. Every time I tried to push it, I couldn’t do it. I just had to listen to the training staff. They knew what they were doing, and I just trusted them. I’m finally back, and I’m happy to be back.”
Initially, Thomas wasn’t sure about his leg. He had to learn that he could trust the leg to hold up.
“It took a game or two because I was scared to hit top speed,” Thomas said. “But now they told me, ‘It’s already done. It can’t happen again.’ So, I just pushed it as fast as I could and didn’t feel anything when I did it. I was just happy that it didn’t do it, and now I’m just flying around.”
Thomas forced a fumble against the Cleveland Browns.
He did so after studying a lot of film of retired Chicago Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman and his patented Peanut punch with Texans assistant coach Ilir Emini.
“The whole week, Coach Ilir Emini kept showing me, ‘We’ve got to get the ball out, TT. You’ve got to get the ball out,’” Thomas said. “He’s showing Peanut Tillman highlight tape before every meeting. Then right before the game, I’m in the hot tub warming up, and I’m talking to (Neville Hewitt) like, ‘I’m getting the ball out today. I’ve been watching Peanut all week.’ Then the first chance I got, they threw the ball my way, and I’m like, ‘I’ve got to hit him as hard as I can, but at the same time I’ll hit the ball.’
“That’s the first time I went after punching the ball, and it actually came out. The whole game that’s all I was trying to do. I got the second one out. Then when I posted it and (Tillman) retweeted it, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m popular now.’ So, yeah, I was happy about it.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com