Getty Washington Commanders quarterback Logan Thomas.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept four tight ends on their 53-man roster. It’s a position group that doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Last year’s stater, Cade Otton, proved to be serviceable last season with 47 receptions for 455 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns in 17 starts.
Beyond Otton, Payne Durham and Ko Kief combined for 6 receptions for 60 yards and no touchdowns in 2023 and rookie Devin Culp had 66 receptions for 711 yards and 4 touchdowns in 5 seasons at Washington.
That’s why the Buccaneers should make a move to sign a free agent tight end who finished in the Top 20 in the NFL in receiving for tight ends in 2020 — recently released veteran Logan Thomas.
ESPN Ranked Tampa Bay TEs Toward Bottom of NFL
Thomas signed with the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason and was a surprise release by the team on Aug. 27, making him perhaps the best free-agent tight end available headed into the season.
ESPN’s Mike Clay ranked the Tampa Bay tight ends toward the bottom of the NFL in his 2024 preseason position rankings, putting them at No. 30 out of 32 teams.
Thomas had one of the best seasons of his decade-long NFL career in 2023 with the Washington Commanders. He was one of the few bright spots for the team as it struggled to a 4-13 record, finishing the season with 55 receptions, 496 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.
That put Thomas 19th in the NFL in receiving among tight ends — just two spots ahead of Otton.
The Commanders open up the 2nd half with a Logan Thomas touchdown.
Took only 3 minutes 🔥
New Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen could incorporate at least 1 tight end in a majority of offensive sets in 2024.
“The Tampa Bay Bucs’ first-year offensive coordinator Liam Coen plans to run a lot of formations in the 11 personnel with one back, one tight end and three receivers, which is slightly different than what we saw last year in the Bucs offense,” wrote WFLA’s Aileen Hnatiuk on Aug. 29.
Thomas Made Rare Position Switch in NFL
Thomas, 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, at one time seemed like a high-level NFL prospect at a different position. He was a 3-year starter at quarterback for Virginia Tech and earned All-ACC honors as a sophomore in 2011, finishing his career with 10,362 yards of total offense and 76 total touchdowns (52 passing, 24 rushing) but also threw 39 intecetpions.
Thomas was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft and played one season there before he was released. He spent 2015 as a backup quarterback on the Miami Dolphins.
Thomas spent part of 2016 as a quarterback on the practice squad for the New York Giants before switching positions to tight end and spending the last part of 2016 on the practice squad with the Detroit Lions.
He spent 2017 and 2018 with the Buffalo Bills and 2019 back with the Lions before having a breakout season with Washington in 2020, starting 15 games while putting up career highs for receptions (72), receiving yards (670) and touchdowns (6) as the franchise made the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Washington rewarded Thomas with a 3-year, $24 million contract extension following his breakout season in 2020, but he played in only six games in 2021 due to injuries.
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