Highlights
- Logan Thomas transitioned from QB to TE in 2016 in a career-saving move.
- Thomas joins the San Francisco 49ers to play alongside George Kittle.
- Thomas switching to TE years ago resulted in a career blossom & a possible backup role with a Super Bowl contender.
An NFC West squad is taking a chance on a former quarterback. After being drafted as a QB, Logan Thomas converted himself to a tight end in the middle of the 2016 season.
Now, he’s getting a chance to play again in the NFC West. Thomas was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2014. Now, as he gets ready to embark on what will be his ninth full season in the NFL, he has signed a deal with the San Francisco 49ers, according to NFL.com’s Grant Gordon.
Not only will the 49ers be a pretty good fit for Thomas, but he will also get to play alongside someone who people consider to be one of the better tight ends in today’s NFL in George Kittle.
So, what will Thomas bring to the table in San Fran? Let’s take a deeper look.
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Logan Thomas Heads Out West to Join 49ers
The Former Cardinals QB Now Gets to Play Alongside George Kittle
After starting off his career with not much success as a quarterback, Thomas decided to switch positions and make himself a tight end in the 2016 season. Since then, he has had a renaissance.
His biggest break came when he signed with the Washington Commanders during the COVID-plagued year in 2020. In that 2020 season, Thomas set career-highs in catches (72), receiving yards (670), and receiving touchdowns (six).
Likewise, his numbers from 2023 weren’t ones to be too disappointed about. In his final season in Washington, the former Virginia Tech Hokie tallied 55 grabs for 496 yards and four scores.
Logan Thomas’ Receiving Stats |
|
---|---|
Pre-Washington Tenure (2017-2019) |
35 catches, 319 yards, two touchdowns between three teams |
Washington Football Team/Commanders (2020-2023) |
184 catches, 1685 yards, 14 touchdowns |
So, based on his numbers, it would be fair to say that switching to tight end has resulted in the blossoming of a career for Thomas.
But now, he will likely play second fiddle behind Kittle. Then again, there probably aren’t a lot of tight ends other than Kittle and Travis Kelce who other players at that position would mind being a secondary option to.
And for a team who has been oh so close to winning a Super Bowl in recent memory, getting an extra weapon to boost the offense feels like a very important need. Plus, if a worst-case scenario ever were to happen that Kittle were to go down with a major injury, Thomas would be a very viable insurance policy.
Normally, making a position conversion is not an easy feat to accomplish. But for Logan Thomas, switching from quarterback to tight end may have very well ended up saving his career.
Source: Grant Gordon
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.
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