3rd and Long

The Miami Dolphins have informed linebacker Zach Thomas that they will release him today.

The roster move, which comes as no surprise for a team that’s trying to get younger, ends the Miami career of a linebacker who made seven Pro Bowls in his 12 seasons. Thomas is one of the best players in Dolphins history, a fifth-round draft pick in 1996 who was thought by many to be too small and too slow to be an NFL linebacker but has frequently proved the doubters wrong.

But while Thomas won’t be back with the Dolphins, his NFL career is apparently not over. Jay Glazer from Fox Sports reports that Thomas said he is not ready to retire. If doctors can clear him after the serious concussion he suffered in 2007, there might be a team out there that’s willing to give him a look. But if there’s even the slightest chance that he could be doing himself permanent harm by risking another concussion, here’s hoping he hangs it up.