John Thierry
{{short description|American football player (1971-2017)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = John Thierry
| image = John Thierry Cleveland Browns New Uniform Unveiling (16534129443).jpg
| caption = Thierry in 2015
| number = 94, 91, 53, 55
| position = Defensive end
| birth_date = {{birth date|1971|9|4}}
| birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|11|24|1971|9|4}}
| death_place = Opelousas, Louisiana, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb = 262
| high_school = Plaisance (LA)
| college = Alcorn State
| draftyear = 1994
| draftround = 1
| draftpick = 11
| pastteams =
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|1994|1998}})
- Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|1999}})
- Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|2000|2001}})
- Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|2002}})
| statlabel1 = Tackles
| statvalue1 = 212
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 33.5
| statlabel3 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue3 = 7
| pfr = T/ThieJo20
}}
John Fitzgerald Thierry (September 4, 1971 – November 24, 2017) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round (11th overall pick) of the 1994 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1994 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} A {{convert|6|ft|4|in|adj=on}}, {{convert|263|lb|adj=on}} linebacker from Alcorn State University, Thierry was moved to defensive end and played in nine NFL seasons from 1994 to 2002.
He was selected second in the 1999 Cleveland Browns expansion draft, following Jim Pyne.{{cite web | last=Ardoin | first=Bobby | title=Family, friends remember Opelousas native, ex-NFL player John Thierry | website=DailyWorld.com | date=2017-11-26 | url=https://www.dailyworld.com/story/sports/2017/11/25/family-friends-remember-opelousas-native-nfl-player-john-thierry/108022702/ | access-date=2024-07-29}} He finished his career with the Atlanta Falcons after recurring shoulder injuries. During his career Thierry played in 131 games and started 70 of them recording 33.5 sacks and 158 tackles with 7 fumble recoveries.{{Cite web |title=John Thierry Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/ThieJo20.htm |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}
Thierry died on November 24, 2017, of a heart attack at the age of 46.{{Cite web |last=Biggs |first=Brad |date=2017-11-25 |title=John Thierry, Bears first-round pick in 1994, dies at 46 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/11/25/john-thierry-bears-first-round-pick-in-1994-dies-at-46/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Chicago Tribune}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| Bold
| Career high |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Team !colspan="2"| Games !colspan="4"| Tackles !colspan="4"| Interceptions !colspan="4"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | FF | FR | Yds | TD | |
| 1994 | CHI
| 16 || 1 || 5 || 3 || 2 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1995 | CHI
| 16 || 7 || 25 || 20 || 5 || 4.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1996 | CHI
| 16 || 2 || 13 || 10 || 3 || 2.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1997 | CHI
| 9 || 9 || 15 || 9 || 6 || 3.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1998 | CHI
| 16 || 9 || 30 || 20 || 10 || 3.5 || 1 || 14 || 0 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | CLE
| 16 || 10 || 39 || 33 || 6 || 7.0 || 1 || 8 || 0 || 8 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2000 | GNB
| 16 || 16 || 40 || 32 || 8 || 6.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2001 | GNB
| 12 || 12 || 26 || 20 || 6 || 3.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2002 | ATL
| 14 || 4 || 19 || 16 || 3 || 4.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 131 | 70 | 212 | 163 | 49 | 33.5 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{1994 NFL Draft}}
{{BearsFirstPick}}
{{Bears1994DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thierry, John}}
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:Alcorn State Braves football players
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Cleveland Browns players
Category:Green Bay Packers players
Category:Atlanta Falcons players
Category:Players of American football from Houston
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
{{defensive-lineman-1970s-stub}}