Former New York Giants TE Aaron Thomas dead at 86

Former New York Giants tight end Aaron Thomas passed away on Friday, April 26 at his home in Oregon, the team has confirmed. He was 86.

“I ordered a highlight film from the NFL called, ‘Aaron Thomas NFL.’ It’s on YouTube,” said Robb Thomas, Aaron’s son, who played 10 years in the league as a wide receiver.

“I love watching that because it’s so much fun to see all the old Giants players and be able to see some of the amazing things he did. He’s almost like the early version of (Kansas City Chiefs tight end) Travis Kelce. He was a tight end and flanker, but he really ran good routes and had a good feel about getting into open space.”

Thomas was a fourth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 1961 NFL draft but was traded to the Giants in 1962, where he’d play out the remainder of his 10-year career.

In 133 career games (87 starts), Thomas hauled in 262 receptions for 4,554 yards and 37 touchdowns. He is 17th in Giants history with 254 receptions, 14th with 4,253 yards, and sixth with 35 touchdowns (tied with two others). He was also named to the Pro Bowl in 1964.

“He was very proud of and loved his years with the Giants,” Robb Thomas said. “He really liked the Mara family. They were good to him. He was always a Giants fan.”

Following his retirement from football, Thomas was inducted into the State of Oregon Hall of Fame (1982) and the Oregon State Athletics Hall of Fame (1990).

Once a Giant, Always a Giant.