Super Bowl 2022: Ex-Giant Michael Thomas finally gets his shot at a Super Bowl

LOS ANGELES – Michael Thomas missed his first chance at playing in the Super Bowl. He nearly missed his second.

The former Pro Bowl special teamer and safety for the Giants entered the league unceremoniously as an undrafted free agent with the 49ers and landed a spot on their practice squad in 2012. That was the year they faced the Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII, and while Thomas was part of the roster… he really wasn’t part of the team.

"I was praying for the opportunity to actually help a team win it," Thomas said.

It seemed those prayers were going to be unanswered. Thomas had a productive career in the NFL with the Dolphins, Giants and his hometown Texans but only made the postseason once during his nine seasons when the 2016 Dolphins won the wild card. When his 2020 season ended with a torn pectoral and he spent the offseason, preseason and start of the 2021 regular season unsigned, he figured that was that. At 31, he even started exploring post-playing opportunities with the NFL Players Association.

But then in October, the Bengals called. They had just lost Brandon Wilson and Jessie Bates to injuries and needed to replace the two core special-teamers. Thomas was signed to the practice squad in October, promoted to the active roster in November, and on Sunday will be in Super Bowl LVI.

"It all feels like it’s been worth it for me to wait nine years and finally get back to the game and actually get a chance to play in it and help contribute to the team," he said.

While Thomas is glad to be a Bengal, and he certainly has ties to his other teams like the Dolphins who first gave him a chance to play in the NFL and his hometown Texans, he made it clear he has a special place in his heart for the Giants. He raved about Thomas McGaughey, the special teams coordinator who was his coach in New York and was recently retained by the team to continue in that role under a new head coach.

Thomas was a stabilizing force for the Giants during a time when their locker room was teetering. He was their captain and Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year candidate in 2018.

"Obviously I'm all about the Bengals and happy to help them get to the Super Bowl, and I hope nobody takes this the wrong way," he said at one point this week, "but for one second... Go Big Blue!"

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.