Henry Lee Thomas Jr. (born January 12, 1965) is an American former professional football player. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). His nickname was "Hardware Hank."
Early life and college Thomas was born in Houston, Texas. He was a star athlete at Eisenhower High School there.
He attended Louisiana State University, where he played college football for its football team.
Professional career Thomas was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round of the 1987 NFL draft. He played for the Vikings for the first eight seasons of his career. Thomas twice was selected to the Pro Bowl. He joined the Detroit Lions in 1995, where he played two seasons. He subsequently played four seasons with the New England Patriots and retired from the game.
During his entire NFL career, he was responsible for 93.5 sacks and over 800 tackles.
He has been an intern coach for the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings.
NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high
Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1987 MIN 12 11 81 - - 2.5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1988 MIN 15 15 80 - - 6.0 1 7 0 7 4 1 2 1 1989 MIN 14 14 94 - - 9.0 0 0 0 0 3 3 37 1 1990 MIN 16 16 109 - - 8.5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1991 MIN 16 15 100 - - 8.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1992 MIN 16 16 69 - - 6.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1993 MIN 13 13 66 - - 9.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1994 MIN 16 16 55 41 14 7.0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1995 DET 16 16 68 45 23 10.5 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1996 DET 15 15 47 31 16 6.0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1997 NWE 16 16 69 44 25 7.0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1998 NWE 16 15 64 42 22 6.5 1 24 1 24 2 1 0 0 1999 NWE 16 16 62 42 20 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2000 NWE 16 5 42 24 18 4.5 1 16 0 16 0 1 0 0 Career 213 199 1,006 269 138 93.5 4 47 1 24 19 14 39 2
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