Thomas was born to Connie Thomas and Eddie Roberts in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Thomas was a two-sport athlete at Elizabeth High School where he played both football and basketball. Thomas captained both teams. In football, Thomas played both running back and cornerback. He played alongside his college quarterback, Phillip Walker who currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. Coming out of high school, Thomas was ranked as three-star prospect by ESPN and the fourth best running back in the state of New Jersey. Thomas also played in the North-South All-Star Football Game.
College career
Thomas decided to sign with the Temple Owls in 2013. In his freshman team with the Owls, Thomas served as the team's Kick Returner. His play was good enough to warrant a spot on Phil Steele's All-Conference Third Team. He missed a game against the Army Black Knights with a knee injury. During the summer before his Sophomore year at Temple, Thomas transitioned into becoming a full-time running back. He did not start in the team's first game against Vanderbilt, but led the team with 44 years on 12 carries. Temple went on to win that game. Later in the year, Thomas made his first start against Navy. His season highlight came against Tulsa when he ran for 152 yards and caught a 20-yard touchdown, the first of his Temple career. Thomas' best year came as a Junior. He led Temple's offense with 1,262 rushing yards, 1,677 all-purpose yards, and 114 points. That year, Temple went 10–4 and 7–1 in their American Conference. On October 31, 2015, College Gameday was held in Philadelphia for Temple vs. Notre Dame. Temple went on to appear in the 2015 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game and the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl. In his final year with Temple, Thomas ran for 953 yards. However, he gained enough yards to move up to fourth on Temple's all-time list in total yards. That year, Temple went on to win the 2016 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game, but lost in the 2016 Military Bowl against Wake Forest.
Professional career
Entering the draft, Thomas was labeled as a "Productive running back lacking in NFL-caliber size and strength but who makes up for it with his quickness and ability to help as a pass catcher and return man" by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.
On August 23, 2017, Thomas was signed by the New York Jets. He was waived on September 2, 2017. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 10, 2017. He was released on October 18, 2017. He was re-signed on December 12, 2017. He was promoted to the active roster on December 30, 2017. He was waived on April 14, 2018.
On May 26, 2018, Thomas and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced that they had agreed to terms. He was cut by the team before the season started on June 10.
In late 2018, Thomas was allocated to the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football. On January 21, 2019, he was traded to the San Diego Fleet for tight end Darryl Richardson in the first trade in league history. He did not make the final roster.
