Many people in the D.C. area were a bit underwhelmed when they received the news that the Washington Redskins signed tight end Logan Thomas in free agency. While the TE position was quite possibly the Redskins’ biggest area of need this offseason, they took a different approach to fill that roster hole, choosing to sign multiple low-profile players who can chip in to address the production issue, rather than a top-end free agent like Austin Hooper.
Because of this, Thomas received some flack from fans, as many predicted that he would be no different than the caliber of players that Washington had at the position in 2019. But still, this signing goes deeper than the depth chart and on-field production. One of Ron Rivera’s biggest objectives this offseason is to build a culture that is sustainable in Washington, and it starts with players who will buy-in at the very core. Thomas is one of those players.
Thomas played under Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott over the last couple of seasons, and he learned a lot about team building. McDermott, who in turn learned under Rivera, was all about setting a culture.
“That first year under Sean, we went to the playoffs in Buffalo — that was the tightest-knit team I’ve ever been a part of, including college, everything,” Thomas said, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “We did so many things as a team.”
It was a different coach who was leading this sort of brotherhood, but Thomas says the crux of the idea came from Rivera, who has long been known as a player’s coach who will tie a team together at the core.
“Everyone got along so well, you didn’t want to let the other person down,” Thomas said. “Based on everything I’ve heard from Coach Rivera, that’s the sort of thing we want to get back to.”
He may not be the TE1 who will score 12 touchdowns, as fans were hoping, but Thomas can do a lot to help set the culture in Washington, binding this team together.
