After five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, safety Daniel Thomas’ time with the team has ended – at least for now.
On Tuesday, each NFL team was required to reduce its preseason roster to 53 players on its regular-season active roster. On their way to getting there, the Jaguars terminated Thomas’ contract, parting ways with one of the NFL’s most active special-teamers.
Since he entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft, the former Lee-Montgomery (now Percy Julian) and Auburn standout had 445 defensive snaps and 1,184 special-teams plays in 71 regular-season games. In 2024, Thomas was on the field for a career-high 282 special-teams plays.
Fourteen other Auburn alumni also lost their NFL roster spots on Tuesday by being waived:
Linebacker Eugene Asante by the Miami Dolphins
Guard Gunner Britton by the Detroit Lions
Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather by the Dallas Cowboys
Defensive tackle Marcus Harris (Park Crossing) by the Buffalo Bills
Wide receiver Shedrick Jackson (Hoover) by the Las Vegas Raiders
Defensive tackle Jayson Jones (Calera) by the Baltimore Ravens
Offensive tackle Amari Kight by the Seattle Seahawks
Linebacker Eku Leota by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Linebacker Dorian Mausi by the Minnesota Vikings
Nose tackle Isaiah Raikes by the Tennessee Titans
Defensive tackle Justin Rogers by the Philadelphia Eagles
Safety Jaylin Simpson by the Green Bay Packers
Fullback Wesley Steiner by the Seattle Seahawks
Offensive tackle Kilian Zierer by the Cleveland Browns
Asante, Fairweather, Jones, Kight, Mausi, Raikes and Steiner are undrafted rookies. Leota is the most experienced of the waived players with 11 regular-season games in the past two years.
The waived players will have to wait until 11 a.m. CDT Wednesday to take their next steps in the NFL. The players can be claimed by other teams off the waiver wire until that time. If they go unclaimed, they become free agents, except for Steiner. He was waived with an injury designation, so he will go to Seattle’s injured reserve if he does not get claimed.
Because of his time in the league, Thomas became a free agent as soon as he was released by Jacksonville.
It could be that he ends up re-signing with the Jaguars. Veterans on the initial 53-man roster on Tuesday have their contracts guaranteed for the entire 2025 season. Thomas was due to make $1.7 million. Jacksonville could be hoping to bring him back at a lower figure, but the Jaguars risk losing him to another team by doing so.
At noon CDT Wednesday, NFL teams can start assembling their 16-player practice squads from the free agents.
Before Tuesday, six other former Auburn players had been let go since their team played its final preseason game:
Defensive tackle Philip Blidi by the New England Patriots
Tight end Sal Cannella by the Cleveland Browns
Punter Oscar Chapman by the Minnesota Vikings
Wide receiver Kobe Hudson by the Carolina Panthers
Wide receiver Robert Lewis by the Minnesota Vikings
Quarterback Payton Thorne by the Cincinnati Bengals
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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