An undrafted UAB product who was cut by Detroit and claimed off waivers a day later, Starling Thomas V has since become a full-time starter in Arizona's secondary.
Starling Thomas V is a cornerback for Arizona who took the long way to becoming a starter, going undrafted out of UAB before catching on with the Cardinals in a waiver claim. The Birmingham, Alabama native started 15 of 17 games in 2024 before a training-camp ACL tear cost him the 2025 season.
Path to the league
Thomas played five seasons at UAB from 2018 to 2022, missing 2020 with a torn ACL before returning to earn honorable mention all-conference honors in 2021 and first-team all-conference recognition as a senior in 2022, when he allowed catches on just 37.9% of targets. He went undrafted in 2023, signed with Detroit, was released, and was claimed off waivers by Arizona the next day.
Career highlights
Thomas started 22 of 29 games across his first two NFL seasons (2023-2024) for the Cardinals, totaling 85 tackles, two tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed and a forced fumble. He started 15 of 17 games in 2024 alone, playing at least 30 defensive snaps in 16 of those contests.
2025 season recap
Thomas suffered a torn ACL during training camp in 2025 and was ruled out for the entire season. He re-signed with the Cardinals on a one-year contract on March 12, 2026, as he works his way back.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Starling Thomas V
- Arizona Cardinals: Starling Thomas V
Statistics
2025 season and career▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | cardinals | 17 | 47 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 2023 | cardinals | 12 | 38 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Cornerback
- Group
- defense
- College
- UAB
- Hometown
- Birmingham, AL, USA
- Age
- 26
- Status
- active
