Safety Shamarko Thomas has found his new football home in Canada. The Ottawa Redblacks have signed the former Syracuse star for the 2021 season.
Thomas was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 4th round of the 2013 NFL Draft, primarily as the heir-apparent to former Steeler Troy Polumalu, but that didn’t go as planned.
Shamarko bounced around the NFL over the next few years, and most recently spent time in the XFL. Drafted by the New York Guardians, Thomas was then traded to the DC Defenders.
He was selected First-Team All-Big East in 2012 after being one of the most productive safeties in Syracuse history. He ran a 4.42 40 yard dash at the 2013 NFL Combine, as the 4th rated safety by NFLDraftScout.com.
He joins the Redblacks secondary as a guy that can provide leadership and experience, but has some work ahead of him when camp opens. The Redblacks had a last-place defense in 2019, and gave up the 2nd-most passing yards in the league.
