.jpg) Thompson with theCarolina Panthers in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 45 – Buffalo Bills | |||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1994-04-21)April 21, 1994 (age 31) Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school | Grant Union (Sacramento) | ||||||||||||||||
| College | Washington (2012–2014) | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2015: 1st round, 25th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
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Shaquille Green Thompson (born April 21, 1994) is an American professionalfootballlinebacker for theBuffalo Bills of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theWashington Huskies, earning first-teamAll-American honors in 2014. He also had a short stint playingbaseball with theBoston Red Sox organization as part of their rookie team in theGulf Coast League. Since being drafted by theCarolina Panthers, he has played a hybridsafety and linebacker position, also known as "the Big Nickel".[2]
A native ofSacramento, California, Thompson attendedGrant Union High School, where he was a three-sport star infootball,track andbaseball. He was named first-teamAll-America byRivals.com,Parade andUSA Today, and second-team All-America fromMaxPreps.com andSports Illustrated. He was one of six finalists for theU.S. Army Player of the Year Award. He was named the area's player of the year byThe Sacramento Bee, and also the Player of the Year in the Delta Valley League. As a sophomore, he helped Pacers to a 12–1 overall record. As a junior, herushed for 1,882 yards and 25touchdowns on 164carries, helping lead Grant to an 8–4 record and the quarterfinals of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. He was named the Delta Valley League MVP in 2011. He totaled 57tackles as a senior while also rushing for 1,134 yards and 15 touchdowns on 120 carries and passing for 893 yards and eight more scores. He also played in the 2012U.S. Army All-American Bowl after his senior year.[3]
In addition to football, Thompson was a standout baseball player. Thompson was drafted by theBoston Red Sox in the 18th round of the2012 MLB draft, and played for the Sox' rookie-level team in theGulf Coast League in the summer of 2012.[4] He decided to end his baseball career and focus on football full-time after he batted 0-for-39 with 37strikeouts over 13 games.[5]
Also a talentedsprinter, Thompson lettered all four years in track & field. He posted a personal-best time of 10.96 seconds in the100-meter dash at the 2010 CIF San Joaquin Master Finals, where he took seventh.[6] He finished fifth in the200-meter dash (21.69 s) at the 2010CIF State Track and Field Championships.[7] At the 2011 CIF State Track and Field Championships, he placed seventh (21.77 s) in the 200 meters in a race dominated by defending state championRemontay McClain.[8]
Thompson was regarded as a five star-recruit. He was ranked the No. 1safety and the No. 3 overall prospect in the country byScout.com. He was listed as the No. 1 safety in the nation, No. 4 overall recruit in the country and the No. 1 prospect in the state of California byRivals.com. He was also rated the No. 4 recruit in the country bySuperPrep, which also named him the Far West Defensive Player of the Year. He first committed to theUniversity of California, Berkeley before changing his commitment to theUniversity of Washington on January 31, 2012.[9]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaq Thompson S | Sacramento, California | Grant Union High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.57 | Jan 31, 2012 |
Recruit ratings:Scout:  Rivals: 247Sports: (84) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 3 (overall), 1 (S) Rivals: 4 (overall), 1 (S), 1 (CA) ESPN: 16 (overall), 3 (S), 3 (CA) | ||||||
Sources:
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Thompson played at theUniversity of Washington from 2012 to 2014, where he played safety,slot corner,linebacker, andrunning back. As a junior, he won thePaul Hornung Award and was named an All-American.[10][11]
As a freshman in 2012, Thompson earned an honorable mentionAll-Pac-12 Conference, was named second-team Freshman All-American byFoxSportsNext.com and was picked for the Travis Spring Most Outstanding Freshman award at the team banquet. He started at nickel back in his first college game in a season-opener vs.San Diego State. He made seven tackles, two for loss, and had a crucial, late interception that he returned 33 yards in a win atCal. He also had a strong performance atWashington State, collecting eight tackles, including a sack, and also recovering afumble and returning it 21 yards.
As a sophomore in 2013, Thompson played in every game and started all but theApple Cup at linebacker. He was an honorable mention All-Pac-12. He picked up the team's Chuck Niemi Big Hit Award. He scored on an 80-yardinterception return in the win atOregon State, where he also had four tackles. He notched six tackles in the Apple Cup win overWashington State. He recorded eight tackles in the Huskies' win overBYU in theFight Hunger Bowl.
In his final year at Washington in 2014, Thompson was awarded the fifth annualPaul Hornung Award, given to the nation's most versatile player. He was named first-team All-America byESPN,CBS Sports,Scout.com andSB Nation. He announced on January 5, 2015, that he would forgo his senior season and enter the2015 NFL draft. He was named a Midseason All-American by ESPN,NFL.com, CBS Sports andPhil Steele. He was listed as the national defensive player of the year by three of six writers on the CBS Sports panel. He scored sixtouchdowns in 2014, two as arunning back and four on defense (one interception return and three fumble returns). He was named a first-team preseason All-America byAthlon. He madeSI.com's preseason All-America second team. He was also named to the preseason watch list for both theBednarik (top defensive player) andPaul Hornung (most versatile player) Awards. He started each of the Huskies' games for the season. In a victory overEastern Washington, he notched 15 tackles, including a sack, forced a fumble and also had three carries for 66 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown run. He was named the national defensive player of the week by theWalter Camp Foundation and Athlon's following a two-touchdown performance vs.Illinois, where he scored on a 36-yard interception return and on a 52-yard fumble return, becoming the first Husky on record to have scored two defensive touchdowns in the same game. He scored his third defensive touchdown (and fourth overall) vs.Stanford, returning a fumble (that he forced) 32 yards for a score. He also had seven tackles, including one for a loss, and forced another fumble vs. the Cardinal. He scored on a 100-yard fumble return in the win atCal, where he was a game captain. He has one of just four 100-yard plays inUniversity of Washington history (the others were a punt return byHugh McElhenny, and kickoff returns byPaul Arnold and John Ross). He also had a game-high 11 tackles against the Bears, and was named the National Defensive Player of the Week by Athlon, as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, following the Cal game. He played mostlyrunning back vs.Arizona State, gaining 98 yards on 21 carries, and also caught two passes for 15 yards. He started at tailback atColorado, rushing for 174 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries (11.6-yard average), leading this to be named the team's offensive player of the game after the win inBoulder. He made a second straight start at tailback, but also saw a good deal of action on the defense, vs.UCLA, when he was a game captain. He rushed for 100 yards on 16 carries vs. the Bruins, while also notching four tackles. He played only on defense and special teams atArizona, finishing with three tackles. He made five tackles in theApple Cup win atWashington State. He posted 10 tackles, including half of a tackle for loss, in theCactus Bowl. He was tied for second in the nation with four fumble recoveries. Following his junior season, Thompson announced on January 5, 2015, that he would forgo his senior season and declare the 2015 NFL Draft.[12][13]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Thompson's NFL Combine 40-yard dash |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft0+1⁄8 in (1.83 m) | 228 lb (103 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.64 s | 1.69 s | 2.75 s | 4.08 s | 6.99 s | 33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | ||
| All values fromNFL Combine[14][15] | ||||||||||||
TheCarolina Panthers selected Thompson in the first round (25th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft.[16] He was the third outside linebacker, behindBud Dupree andShane Ray, and seventh edge rusher drafted in 2015. On May 7, 2015, the Panthers signed Thompson to a four-year, $8.80 million contract that includes $7.17 million guaranteed and asigning bonus of $4.66 million.[17][18]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Panthers draft Shaq Thompson |
Thompson was not able to attendtraining camp until Washington's school year ended due to the NFL's policy on rookies being unable to join training camp until the conclusion of the school year.[19] Throughout training camp, he competed for the job as the starting outside linebacker againstA. J. Klein.[20] Head coachRon Rivera named Thompson the startingstrongside linebacker, alongsideThomas Davis Sr. and middle linebackerLuke Kuechly.[21]
He make his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Panthers' season-opening 20–9 victory at theJacksonville Jaguars.[22] On September 27, 2015, Thompson recorded a season-high seven combined tackles and made his first career sack onDrew Brees in a 27–22 victory against theNew Orleans Saints.[23] In Week 6, he collected four combined tackles before leaving the 27–23 victory at theSeattle Seahawks due to a knee sprain.[24] The knee injury sidelined him for the next two games (Weeks 7–8). On January 3, 2016, Thompson tied his season-high with seven combined tackles during a 38–10 win against theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[25] He finished his rookie season in 2015 with a total of 50 combined tackles (32 solo), two pass deflections, and a sack in 14 games and ten starts.[26]
The Panthers finished first in theNFC South with a 15–1 record and received a first round bye. On January 17, 2016, Thompson started his first career playoff game and assisted on one tackle during the Panthers' 31–24 victory against the Seattle Seahawks in theNational Football Conference (NFC) Divisional Round. The Panthers defeated theArizona Cardinals 49–15 in the NFC Championship the following week. On February 7, 2016, Thompson appeared inSuper Bowl 50 and recorded five combined tackles as the Panthers were defeated 24–10 by theDenver Broncos.[27][28]
Thompson sustained a knee sprain and was forced to miss two games (Week 9–10).[29] On December 11, 2016, he made seven combined tackles, broke up a pass, and made his first career interception off of a pass attempt byPhilip Rivers in a 28–16 victory over theSan Diego Chargers. In Week 16, Thompson recorded a season-high 11 combined tackles and deflected a pass during the Panthers' 33–16 loss to theAtlanta Falcons. Thompson finished the2016 season with 56 combined tackles (39 solo), five pass deflections, and an interception in 14 games and 12 starts.[26] Pro Football Focus gave Thompson an overall grade of 85.6 in 2016 and played 533 defensive snaps.[30]
Defensive coordinatorSteve Wilks retained Thompson as the starting strongside linebacker afterSean McDermott departed to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He started the Panthers' season-opener at theSan Francisco 49ers, recording two solo tackles and a sack ofBrian Hoyer during their 23–3 victory. On October 1, 2017, Thompson made a season-high ten combined tackles in their 33–30 win against theNew England Patriots.[31] He missed two games (Week 14–15) after suffering fromplantar fasciitis. He finished his third season with a career-high 61 combined tackles (41 solo), two sacks, and one pass deflections in 14 games, all of them starts.[26]Pro Football Focus gave Thompson an overall grade of 77.4, which ranked 31st among all qualifying linebackers in 2017.[32]
On April 23, 2018, the Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on Thompson's contract.[33] He played in 14 games with 11 starts, recording a career-high 79 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He suffered a shoulder injury in Week 15 and was placed oninjured reserve on December 20, 2018.[34]
In Week 4 of the 2019 season against theHouston Texans, Thompson recorded a team-high 12 tackles and sacked quarterbackDeshaun Watson once in the 16–10 win.[35] In Week 9 against theTennessee Titans, Thompson recorded a team-high 11 tackles and sackedRyan Tannehill once in the 30–20 win.[36] On December 7, 2019, Thompson signed a four-year, $54.2 million contract extension with the Panthers.[37]
In Week 3 of the 2020 season against theLos Angeles Chargers, Thompson led the team with 12 tackles, forced a fumble on running backJoshua Kelley, and recovered the football during the 21–16 win.[38] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Panthers on December 7, 2020,[39] and activated on December 11.[40]
With the NFL's newrules on jersey numbers, Thompson chose to switch his jersey number to #7 in 2021 - the number he wore in college.[41]
In March 2022, Thompson agreed to a contract restructure in order free up cap space for the Panthers.[42] He started all 17 games in 2022, recording a career-high and team-leading 135 tackles, four passes defensed, and 0.5 sacks.
In Week 2 of the 2023 season, Thompson suffered a broken fibula and was placed on injured reserve on September 19, 2023.[43]
Thompson made 4 starts for Carolina in 2024, logging 35 combined tackles. On September 30, 2024, it was announced that Thompson suffered atorn Achilles, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[44][45]
On February 24, 2025, Thompson was released by the Panthers.[46]
On June 10, 2025, Thompson signed a one-year contract with theBuffalo Bills.[47] The move reunites him with his former defensive coordinatorSean McDermott, now the Bills' head coach, and Bills general managerBrandon Beane, who was the Panthers' assistant general manager in Thompson's first two years.[48]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2015 | CAR | 14 | 10 | 50 | 32 | 18 | 1.0 | -- | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | CAR | 14 | 12 | 56 | 39 | 17 | 0.0 | -- | 5 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | -- | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| 2017 | CAR | 14 | 14 | 61 | 41 | 20 | 2.0 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | CAR | 14 | 11 | 80 | 51 | 29 | 3.5 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | CAR | 14 | 14 | 109 | 75 | 34 | 3.0 | -- | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | CAR | 16 | 16 | 114 | 64 | 50 | 0.0 | -- | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | CAR | 14 | 13 | 104 | 65 | 39 | 2.0 | -- | 5 | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 29 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CAR | 17 | 17 | 135 | 78 | 57 | 0.5 | -- | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | CAR | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | CAR | 4 | 4 | 35 | 19 | 16 | 0.0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | BUF | 12 | 6 | 56 | 33 | 23 | 1.0 | -- | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 135 | 118 | 808 | 503 | 305 | 13.0 | 0 | 28 | 3 | 51 | 17.0 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 1 | |
Raised inSacramento, California, Thompson is the son of Patty, a single mother, and the youngest of four brothers. His older brotherSyd'Quan played for theDenver Broncos.[49]
On October 14, 2019, Thompson announced on his Twitter account that his mother had died, just hours after the Panthers' 37–26 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London.[50]
On November 27, 2021, along with three other players, Thompson was placed on the PanthersCOVID-19 reserve list.
· Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors)