Not about playing time.

Not about his role.

Not about what some might see as a difficult circumstance.

Thomas, a fourth-year defensive end for the Colts, has improved steadily in his three NFL seasons, and has been a valuable member of the team's defensive line rotation.

Yet, he plays behind Robert Mathis . . .

And Dwight Freeney . . .

So, while Thomas - who played collegiately at Syracuse University - has developed into a solid pass rusher and an equally valuable run defender, he has started just two of 37 NFL games. And last season, when the Colts won the Super Bowl, he played as a reserve in 14 regular season games and four in the postseason.

And you know what?, Thomas said.

That's OK.

“That’s my role,” Thomas said during the Colts’ recent summer-school session, which concluded last week at the Colts’ Training Facility.

“If I can be productive with 25-to-30 plays a game in this defensive situation, I’m doing my job. That’s the way I look at it. I think that’s how I was last year.”

Thomas, who signed with the Colts as a collegiate free agent shortly after the 2004 NFL Draft, has been productive with his time since making the team in his rookie training camp. In 2004, he played 11 games with one sack before sustaining a season-ending knee injury.

In 2005, after rehabilitating throughout the off-season, he started two of 12 games and finished the season with three sacks.

Last season, fully healthy for the first time since his rookie season, he played in 14 of the Colts’ 16 regular-season games and all four playoff games. He had a sack in the regular season and another in the Colts’ 15-6 Divisional Playoff victory in Baltimore.

Thomas – who also lined up at tackle in some situations – finished last season with a career-high 35 tackles, and played extensively in running situations. He also tied for fourth on the team with nine quarterback pressures.

The Colts, since Tony Dungy took over as head coach in 2002, typically have used eight-to-nine defensive linemen in a heavy rotation.

In such a system, Dungy said, a player such as Thomas is critical.

“Guys who can play four plays here, five plays there, are important,” Dungy said. “Some guys have to get in the flow of the game and have to be out there all the time. For our reserve guys like Josh and (defensive tackle) Darrell Reid to be able to go in and be at full-tilt the first play they go in, that’s really important.”

The ability to be ready on short notice is something Thomas said he developed quickly upon joining the Colts.

“I don’t know if it’s anything I really worked on except for all of a sudden, when I got to the league, I had to be on point whenever they asked me to be,” Thomas said. “I didn’t have the luxury like I did in college where I could play and weather the hot periods and the cold periods. I think it happened during camp when I realized what I had to do. I knew in order to make the team I had to be 100 percent every play, so when the season started, I was used to performing that way.

“I’m still up and down at times, but if I have a bad play, I can’t let it fester. You have to be on point when you’re asked to be. Otherwise, you’re not going to be around much longer.”

Already, Thomas has been around longer than many may have expected when he left Syracuse. He was not selected in the 2004 draft, but he impressed Colts coaches and personnel officials immediately. Now, entering his fourth season, he is among the veterans on an improving defense.

“It’s real hard to believe,” Thomas said. “I see some of the rookies now and it doesn’t seem like too long ago that I came in and was kind of lost and had to get caught up on everything. But it goes by quickly.

“Your rookie year, it’s just kind of getting reps here and there. Every year, it kind of slips by you. Now, I kind of know my role. I’m a solid role player. I contribute. Each year, I get better and that’s really my role.

“To be the third defensive end behind two Pro Bowl-caliber defensive ends – I’m all right with that.”

Freeney, a Pro Bowl selection from 2003-2005, had 5.5 regular season sacks last season and two more in the playoffs while Mathis – who had 22 sacks in 2004-2005 – finished last season with a team-high 9.5 sacks.

Thomas said he has learned from the duo, and said he has seen improvements in his own game during the same span.

“I feel like I’ve gotten quicker at recognizing things, and quicker at doing certain moves you see veterans do to get out of certain situations,” Thomas said. “When I watch film, I definitely can see that a lot more this year than I did my rookie year. That’s just a natural progression from anyone, and hopefully, that’s how it will keep going.”

And if he has to keep it going behind two quality players, Thomas said that’s something with which he can live – and a situation in which he said he can continue to prosper.

“We have two unbelievable defensive ends,” Thomas said. “I know they’re kind of locked down and I appreciate the fact that I can learn from them. My game has gotten so much better backing those two up that I never look at them and say, 'Man, I wish I was the starter.’

“We’re all in this together. We’re all kind of doing it and that’s kind of how our defensive line plays.”

THE DEFENSIVE ENDS

Dwight Freeney

Sixth NFL season

6-1, 268

Syracuse

Acquired: First round, 2002 (11th overall)

Freeney, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and a 2004-2005 Associated Press All-Pro selection, has been one of the NFL’s top pass-rushers for the last five seasons. . . . He has 56.5 sacks in five NFL seasons, including 5.5 last season. . . . He had 11 sacks in 2005, his fourth time in as many NFL seasons with double-digit sacks . . . He led the NFL in 2004 with a franchise-record 16 sacks . . . He had 40 sacks in his first three seasons, the third-highest total over such a span in NFL history . . . He had 51 sacks in his first four seasons, also the third-highest total in NFL history over such a span.

Robert Mathis

Fifth NFL season

6-2, 245

Alabama A&M

Acquired: Fifth round, 2003

A strikingly speedy, athletic player, Mathis has emerged as one of the NFL’s top pass-rushers during the last three seasons. . . . He had 10.5 sacks in 2004 and led the Colts with a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2005 and 9.5 last season. . . . He has forced 21 fumbles in three seasons, including six in 2004, eight in 2005 and four last season. . . . After playing mostly in pass-rushing situations on defense in 2004 and 2005, he moved into a starting role this past season.

Josh Thomas

Fourth NFL season

6-5, 271

Syracuse

Acquired: Free agent, 2004

An athletic player, Thomas has developed into a solid pass rusher and run defender in three NFL seasons. . . . He made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2004. . . . He had a sack and 18 tackles as a rookie before a season-ending knee injury in November . . . He returned in 2005 to register three sacks. . . . He had a sack in the regular season and a sack in the postseason last season.

Bo Schobel