Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was adamant throughout the offseason he liked the team’s tight end group. Logan Thomas, John Bates, Armani Rogers, Cole Turner and Curtis Hodges were all back in 2023, with the final three just entering their second NFL season.
Washington chose not to draft a tight end in the 2023 NFL draft — one of the deepest tight end drafts in years.
Then, on Day 1 of OTAs two weeks ago, Rogers injured his Achilles and was lost for the season.
Last week, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy spoke of his confidence in Washington’s tight ends.
While he may be the oldest in the room, Thomas is also the most important. After a career season with Washington in 2020, Thomas signed a contract extension. Unfortunately, he battled multiple injuries in 2021, including a torn ACL in December. And while Thomas recovered in time for training camp in 2022, he never looked fully healthy last season.
However, late in the season, head coach Ron Rivera noticed Thomas looked faster and less tentative. That led the Commanders to keep Thomas on the roster for 2023, insisting tight end wasn’t a significant need.
If the offseason is any indication of how Thomas will look in 2023, Rivera and Bieniemy could have been right all along.
According to Zach Selby of commanders.com, who has seen every OTA practice and the first day of minicamp, Thomas has been impressive. Selby offered the following observation of Thomas on the first day of minicamp Tuesday.
Logan Thomas continues to look impressive. He made a great sideline catch from Howell, who threaded the pass between multiple defenders. Eric Bieniemy said the offense would be a tight end friendly system, and Thomas is quickly becoming one of Howell’s favorite targets.
A healthy Thomas would be massive for quarterback Sam Howell. As Bieniemy indicated, the tight end is a big part of his offense. And every young quarterback needs a safety outlet, which Thomas and Cole Turner could provide for Howell.
