5× First-team All-Pro linebacker Zach Thomas is synonymous with the Miami Dolphins, whom he played for between 1996 and 2007. However, he recently admitted that he almost signed with the AFC East rival New England Patriots in 2008.
Appearing on Hochman & Crowder this week, the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Famer explained what happened during that offseason and how he almost became a huge rival to the Dolphins.
“After I got cut (by) the Dolphins, Parcells told me that, ‘You’re 35. Linebackers decline after 35,’ ” Thomas said, via NESN. “So I’m like, man — it’s just the competitive nature — I want to shove it in his face, right? So I say, where am I going to go in the division? I said I ain’t going to the Jets. Hell no. I ain’t doing that. So I say, OK, let’s go visit Bill Belichick.”
While Bill Belichick and the Patriots offered him a contract, he ended up signing with the Dallas Cowboys instead.
“(Belichick) offered me, and I said, ‘Let me think about it.’ I slept on it and woke up the next morning and said, ‘Hell no, man. I can’t let down the fans, because they got my back.’ That’s one of those things that come back. They’ve always been good to me. I thought it was the right move, so I went to Dallas, playing out of position, and it worked out,” said Thomas.
Thomas will enter the Hall of Fame as a true Dolphins legend, having amassed 1,734 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 17 interceptions, and 16 forced fumbles in his NFL career.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.