Solomon Thomas is no stranger to his new home turf.
The new Jets defensive end took the turf at MetLife Stadium with Robert Saleh and the 49ers in September of 2020, which would be Thomas’ final game of that season. He suffered a torn ACL in that Week 2 victory, as did fellow defensive lineman Nick Bosa, leading to criticism regarding the field’s condition, particularly from San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan.
“I know our players talked about it the entire game, how sticky the turf was, and I think that was the first time people played on it,” Shanahan said back in 2020. “It was something our guys were concerned about right away. And the results definitely made that a lot stronger.
Now that he is reunited with Saleh and with the Jets on a one-year deal, Thomas said he has “made amends” with the turf field, which Jason Kelce recently said was easily the worst surface he has ever played on in his long NFL career. Thomas told reporters at Wednesday’s introductory press conference that he moved on from the injury last season, when he took that same turf with the Raiders, who were in town visiting the Giants. Thomas came onto the field early and even talked with the turf that may have contributed to a derailed 2020 season, and got through the game with no issues, logging one solo tackle in a 23-16 loss.
Thomas came off the bench in that game, something he did all 17 games of last season with Las Vegas. In fact, over the past three seasons, he has made just five starts in 35 appearances, and hopes the upcoming season with Gang Green won’t be just an opportunity to continue to repair his relationship with the MetLife turf. He wants to repair his career that began with loads of hype after being taken third overall in 2017.
“I’m forever thankful for it. It set a high ceiling for me,” Thomas said of his draft selection. “I was drafted third for a reason. I know what I can do in this league, and I’m still here striving to do what I know I can do.
“I haven't performed exactly how I've wanted, but I show up and be the best teammate I can be. I finally believe in myself like I know I can…I'm excited to go off, I'm excited to go dominate.”
The Stanford product logged three sacks in his rookie season, a number he didn’t eclipse until this past season, when he finished with 3.5 despite never stating a game. For Thomas, last season was a chance to be healthy and begin his upward trend towards justifying his high draft stock from five years ago, and believes being with this team, and this head coach, will unlock his full potential.
“For me, it easily was the Jets,” Thomas said of his free agency. “Wanted to obviously let my agent play the game and do all of the things he needed to do, and it ended up working out. Got to reunite with coach Saleh and be with a great program like the New York Jets. I’m super excited to be here, and it’s an honor to be a Jet right now.”
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