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Former West Orange-Stark and University of Alabama standout Deionte Thompson was released by the Arizona Cardinals this week.

Thompson, a safety, was replaced on the 53-man roster by rookie seventh-round draft pick Jesse Luketa. Hopefully Thompson will be picked up by another NFL team soon.

Thompson was selected by the Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Thompson was a key stalwart for the Mustangs, especially his senior year where he starred at receiver and in the secondary. And he was a beast in the return game.

As a senior in 2014, the Mustangs advanced all the way to the Class 4A Division II State Championship Game, where they fell to Gilmer.

Thompson had a huge 95-yard kickoff return in the state semifinals against Sinton that helped seal the deal for WO-S, igniting them into the Championship Game.

A ball-hawk in the secondary, Thompson had 15 career interceptions with the Mustangs and was the Most Valuable Player on the 2014 All-Orange Leader Football Team.

Thompson was recruited heavily out of high school and chose Alabama over the likes of LSU, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.

After redshirting his first year at Alabama in 2015, Thompson played in 14 games in 2016, recording nine tackles. As a sophomore in 2017, he played in 14 games with two starts and had 25 tackles and one interception^.

Thompson took over as a starter for the Tide in 2018. In 14 games he had 78 tackles and 2 interceptions. He was a Consensus All-American after the season. After the 2018 season, Thompson decided to forgo his senior year to pursue a career in the NFL.

For the Cardinals, Thompson finished with 54 tackles. His best season came in 2020 in which he made four starts and had 27 tackles.

Thompson played on 661 defensive snaps and was in on 582 special teams plays for the Cardinals in his career in Arizona.