RICHMOND — A day after re-signing defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, the Washington Football Team addressed its offense by agreeing to terms with tight end Logan Thomas on a three-year deal worth roughly $24 million, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The contract averages a little more than $8 million annually to make him the seventh-highest paid veteran tight end, and it includes $10.3 million in guarantees. Including the remaining season on his current deal, Thomas is under contract with Washington through 2024.
“These are guys we believe fit us going into the future,” Coach Ron Rivera said of Thomas and Allen on Tuesday. “It gives them some stability and it shows other players that we are most certainly working to keep our own. That’s how you build a team; you sign those guys and keep those guys around.”
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A former quarterback out of Virginia Tech, Thomas signed with Washington in 2020 and quickly emerged as a productive tight end in his first full season at the position. In 16 games (15 starts), Thomas played nearly every offensive snap and totaled 72 catches for 670 yards (263 after the catch) and a team-high six receiving touchdowns. He also became the first tight end in team history to complete a pass (28 yards to Terry McLaurin) and set a franchise record for most catches in a game by a tight end when he caught 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Thomas was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2014 to be a quarterback, but played only two games and completed only one pass — an 81-yard touchdown.
He was cut 12 times by four different teams, often bouncing on and off practice squads, before arriving in Washington last year. In 2017, while with the Detroit Lions, he began his conversion to tight end, but was used sparingly in his first few seasons at the position, never catching more than 16 passes in a year.
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What Washington saw in Thomas, however, was the ability to develop into a Greg Olsen-like weapon in Scott Turner’s offense, which relies heavily on the tight end position. Thomas has the size (6-foot-6, 250 pounds) and athleticism (he ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the combine), and he knows the game from the vantage point of both the quarterback and pass-catcher.
What he lacked was opportunity.
“He’s just a guy that never got to play much, that didn’t fit in wherever he was before,” Washington tight ends coach Pete Hoener said in June. “But he certainly had the traits we were looking for in a complete tight end. In this system, we need a complete tight end, and that’s a tight end who is not only a heck of a receiver, but he’s a heck of a pass protector. … He’s a heck of a run blocker.
“ … When I talk about a complete tight end, he has to be in the top five, six or seven in the league, the way he blocks, his total attitude as a real pro, his leadership qualities and then his production as a receiver is proven now.”
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Rivera has described Allen similarly, with his production on defense coupled with his leadership off the field. At only 26, he is an anchor of Washington’s starting defensive line and last year was voted to be a team captain and the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.
Contract discussions for him began in the spring and culminated early Monday, as players prepared to report for training camp in Richmond. Though it’s possible Allen could have received more money in free agency next year, getting the deal done now took away the risk of injury, and it was important to him to stay in Washington. He grew up in Ashburn, not far from the team’s training facility, and is surrounded by family in Northern Virginia.
Eager to keep him in the fold, Washington threw in a $30 million signing bonus (the second-largest among defensive tackles, behind Aaron Donald) and improved its offer to $18 million per year (fifth-highest average among interior linemen).
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“Jonathan was a first-round draft pick, a guy that’s had a tremendous impact on our football team, not just as a player, but as a leader,” Rivera said Tuesday. “It was good to get him done.”
Roster updates
Players reported to camp Tuesday for meetings and a conditioning test, and will begin practices Wednesday. But they will be without newly signed wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who was placed on the physically unable to perform list along with defensive back Greg Stroman.
Samuel participated in OTAs but not minicamp in June because of what Rivera said was a groin injury. His stint on the PUP list is expected to be short and is primarily out of precaution, according to a person familiar with the matter. Both Samuel and Stroman can participate in team meetings and be activated at any point.
The team will also begin camp practices without safety Deshazor Everett and defensive tackle Tim Settle, who were placed on the non-football illness list.
Washington also waived defensive end Jalen Jelks with an injury designation and added Bunmi Rotimi following his tryout with the team, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Rotimi is a West Potomac High graduate who played at Old Dominion and had a stint in the XFL.
