Derrick Thomas- how many more years could he have played?

[CSKreager]

If Derrick Thomas had not passed away way too early, how many more years might he have played for KC?

He was 33 and coming off a 7 sack season.

[bachslunch]

If Derrick Thomas had not passed away way too early, how many more years might he have played for KC?

He was 33 and coming off a 7 sack season.

It's hard to know, but that's about the age many productive and healthy pass rushing OLBs slow down. DeMarcus Ware is 33 now and still plays pretty well but he's on the down-slope. John Abraham was effective through age 35 but his career has pretty much ended via injury. Lawrence Taylor's career ended at 34 with a drop in production from 32-34. Rickey Jackson played until he was 37 but had a definite drop in production his last two seasons. Pat Swilling was pretty much done after age 32. Charles Haley played until age 35 but his last big year was at 31 and his playing time was reduced afterwards. Joey Porter retired at 34 and his last good season was at age 32.

My guess is that Thomas might have played another three years tops at less than optimal level.

[conace21]

Swilling and Jackson both moved to DE when they moved to their new Bay Area teams. Charles Haley was a full time DE in Dallas. Didn't John Abraham play at DE in Atlanta?

The standard setter for pass rushing in your 30's was Bruce Smith. He played at an All Pro level until he was 34, and played well on a dominant Bills defense the next two years. The 1999 Bills did substitute the defensive line liberally, with a fine second unit of Marcellus Wiley, Pat Williams, and Shawn Price.
When he moved to Washington, he had double digit sacks at age 37, and he hung on long enough to break Reggie White's record at age 40. In his later years, he was much more of an arm tackler, and he missed out on a few sacks that way.

As for Derrick Thomas, I think he could have been a starter on an average defense for another two or three years, with occasional flashes of his speed rush.

[Rupert Patrick]

If Derrick Thomas had not passed away way too early, how many more years might he have played for KC?

He was 33 and coming off a 7 sack season.

It's hard to know, but that's about the age many productive and healthy pass rushing OLBs slow down. DeMarcus Ware is 33 now and still plays pretty well but he's on the down-slope. John Abraham was effective through age 35 but his career has pretty much ended via injury. Lawrence Taylor's career ended at 34 with a drop in production from 32-34. Rickey Jackson played until he was 37 but had a definite drop in production his last two seasons. Pat Swilling was pretty much done after age 32. Charles Haley played until age 35 but his last big year was at 31 and his playing time was reduced afterwards. Joey Porter retired at 34 and his last good season was at age 32.

My guess is that Thomas might have played another three years tops at less than optimal level.

I also think that once he lost a step and the Chiefs had drafted a replacement, he might have left KC and chased a Super Bowl ring as many do late in their careers.

[NWebster]

He probably would have had 3 years in him and maybe a total of 25 sacks or so. But he was already dropping off. The combination of him and Neil Smith was important. The power guys tend to last longer than the speed guys and he was certainly the latter. He's no Dwight Freeney but is up there as my all time overrated pass rusher. A one trick pony - admittedly great trick - but all he could really do was run around slower tackles.