Thomas to be first female to officiate at Super Bowl
Sarah Thomas will cap her sixth NFL season by becoming the first female to officiate the Super Bowl in NFL history.
Thomas, a down judge, is part of the officiating crew announced Tuesday by the NFL.
“Sarah Thomas has made history again as the first female Super Bowl official,” said Troy Vincent, Sr., the NFL’s executive vice resident of football operations. “Her elite performance and commitment to excellence has earned her the right to officiate the Super Bowl. Congratulations to Sarah on this well-deserved honor.”
Referee Carl Cheffers will lead the seven-person crew of on-field game officials for the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa,
Fla. Cheffers has been a game official for 21 seasons in the NFL and was promoted to referee in 2008. He has worked 17 playoff games, including the Super Bowl in 2017.
The crew includes umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, field judge James Coleman, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli and replay official Mike Wimmer. The crew has 88 years of NFL experience with 77 combined playoff games.
This will be the first Super Bowl for Coleman as well as Thomas and second for Cheffers, Bryan, Baynes, Hall and
Paganelli.
■ RAVENS: Three-time Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram has been released by the Baltimore Ravens, who used the 10-year veteran as a starter for the first seven games this season before dropping him deep on the depth chart.
The 31-year-old Ingram was on the inactive list for four of Baltimore’s last five games, including playoff matchups against Tennessee and Buffalo. He finished with 299 yards on a career-low 72 carries and two touchdowns.
Ingram, who has averaged a robust 4.6 yards per carry over this career, was signed by Baltimore as a free agent in March 2019 after playing eight years with the New Orleans Saints. He received his third Pro Bowl invitation during the 2019 season, his third with at 1,000 yards rushing.