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John Thornton

Cincinnati Bengals — No. 97
Defensive tackle
Date of birth: October 2, 1976 (1976-10-02) (age 31)
Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 297 lb (135 kg)
National Football League debut
1999 for the Tennessee Titans
Career history
College: West Virginia
NFL Draft: 1999 / Round: 2 / Pick: 52
Teams: Tennessee Titans (1999-2002) Cincinnati Bengals (2003-present)
Career highlights and awards
No notable achievements
Stats at NFL.com

John Jason Thornton (born October 2, 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American football defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League. He played college football at West Virginia University. Thornton was drafted in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (52nd pick overall).

[edit] High school years

He attended Scotland School for Veterans' Children, a residential school for relatives of veterans.

[edit] College career

Thornton attended West Virginia University. Thornton was a two-time All-Big East selection at West Virginia. As a senior, he was defensive co-captain and earned first-team All-America honors from The Sports Network. He also started every game his last three seasons.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 1999

Thornton was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (52nd overall) in the 1999 NFL Draft. He made his debut versus the Cincinnati Bengals on September 12 and made one tackle. During the regular season he made 4.5 sacks which was the most made by any rookie defensive tackle. He appeared in Super Bowl XXXIV for the Titans against the St. Louis Rams.

[edit] 2000

Thornton started in every game for the Titans and finished the season with 55 tackles. He made eight tackles, his season high in the game at the Buffalo Bills on September 3.

[edit] 2001

Due to a shoulder injury, Thornton only played in the first three games.

[edit] 2002

Just as he did in 2000, Thornton started in every game for the Titans and was part of the defense that limited their opponents to 89.0 rushing yards per game. He made 44 tackles in the regular season.

[edit] 2003

Thornton made six sacks which was a career high for him.

[edit] 2004

During the 2004 season, Thornton started in every game for the Cincinnati Bengals and made 74 tackles.

[edit] 2005

Collected paycheck

[edit] 2006

Collected paycheck

[edit] 2007

Collected paycheck.

[edit] 2008

As of the 2008 season, he has collected his check.

[edit] Personal

Thornton has also become the subject of ongoing jokes among the Bengals community for a series of Chuck Norris style jokes. For example "John Thornton doesn't pray to God, God prays to John Thornton."

Is often mistaken in downtown Cincinnati for a professional football player.