Redskins release Devin Thomas

The Devin Thomas era in Washington has ended. According to Redskins Insider's Rick Maese, the Redskins released Thomas yesterday, making room on the roster for Keiland Williams.

In the end, Thomas was right. For weeks, he admitted in interviews that he was worried that his roster spot was in jeopardy. He survived four games under Mike Shanahan, only contributing as the team's kick returner. In parts of three seasons in Washington after being drafted in the second round in 2008, Thomas caught a grand total of 40 passes for 445 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a rushing TD in 2008.

Obviously there was something about Thomas that the Redskins coaching staff didn't like, or else he would have gotten a chance. Thomas, who's only 23, will likely move on to another team with wide receiver issues, though not many teams have as thin of a wide receiver corps as the Redskins.

It would be nice to have some more answers on why Thomas was released, but two things probably contributed: 1) somehow he got in Shanahan's doghouse and couldn't get out of it, and 2) maybe he just wasn't that good to begin with. After all, he was drafted by Vinny Cerrato.

Jason Reid also shared a story about Thomas during the preseason:

An incident during a meeting in the preseason probably did not help Thomas improve his standing with the Shanahans.

As Thomas slept in the meeting, rookie wideout-punt returner Brandon Banks used his cell phone to take a picture of Thomas. Banks then transmitted the picture via Twitter. After team officials informed Shanahan of what occurred, Banks quickly deleted the picture from his Twitter account.

If Thomas was talented enough, him falling asleep in one meeting probably wouldn't have been a big deal. But that unprofessionalism, combined with his apparent talent deficiency, was enough for Shanahan to show him the door after just four games.

Here are some other links/reactions on Thomas's departure:

• "Redskins release Devin Thomas after four games; Keiland Williams promoted" [Mike Jones, @TBDSkins]
• "Thomas cut, Williams promoted" [John Keim, Redskins Confidential]
• "D.C. Is Where Wide Receivers Go to Die" [Jamie Mottram, Mr. Irrelevant]
• "Devin Thomas era in D.C. is over" [Matt Mosley, NFC East Blog]
• "Devin Thomas Cut by Redskins" [J.J. Cooper, FanHouse]