{"id":53386,"date":"2022-08-23T02:04:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T02:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/commanders-tight-end-logan-thomas-to-practice-for-first-time-in-2022\/"},"modified":"2022-08-23T02:04:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T02:04:43","slug":"commanders-tight-end-logan-thomas-to-practice-for-first-time-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/commanders-tight-end-logan-thomas-to-practice-for-first-time-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Commanders tight end Logan Thomas to practice for first time in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-grBDNq hide-for-print mb-sm undefined\">\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-iAjpuP-css flex items-center\" config=\"[object Object]\" data-qa=\"article-actions\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\"><button class=\"wpds-c-gNHrZC wpds-c-gNHrZC-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-gNHrZC-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-gNHrZC-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-gNHrZC-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-gNHrZC-futxca-cv wpds-c-gNHrZC-ihhnWqF-css\"><button class=\"PJLV PJLV-igcOMTV-css\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"wpds-c-coakfw wpds-c-efqEZa focus-highlight flex items-center justify-center brad-lg pointer transition-400 ease-in-out transition-colors\" aria-label=\"Comment on this story\" iconstyle=\"[object Object]\"><title>Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Last week, as Washington Commanders tight end Logan Thomas underwent extra tests with the team&#8217;s training staff, the results indicated something unexpected: His legs were more powerful this year than last.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">For the past eight months, Thomas, 31, has been rehabbing from surgery after he tore the ACL, medial collateral ligament, medial meniscus and lateral meniscus in his left knee.  He worried his leg would be weaker, that the athleticism he needed to help him reinvent his career might be compromised.  But as he jumped on the force plate \u2014 a rectangular mechanical sensor that measures balance, power and other biometrics \u2014 the numbers got better and better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cThat kind of just told everybody it was time to roll,\u201d Thomas said.  \u201cI was surprised, but shoot, I&#8217;ll take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\">From 2021: Washington believes Logan Thomas, coming off a breakout season, is nowhere near his ceiling<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">On Monday, the Commanders activated Thomas from the physically unable to perform list, a huge boost for a team down to just two healthy tight ends last week.  Washington started training camp with seven players at the position, but then Antonio Gandy-Golden retired, key backups resulted in nagging injuries and several backups&#8217; backups got hurt, too.  By the second preseason game, it was just undrafted rookie Armani Rogers \u2014 who had played quarterback until this spring \u2014 and journeyman Eli Wolf.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">In his first practice after being activated, Thomas wore a black sleeve his leg and participated only in individual drills.  He blocked the red pads, and on the side field during special teams drills, he caught his first passes from quarterback Carson Wentz.  Thomas said he&#8217;d love to be back for the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but \u201cif I&#8217;m not ready to go or I don&#8217;t feel like a full version of myself, then we can buy another week or another two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Coach Ron Rivera said Thomas will not play in the preseason finale against the Ravens in Baltimore on Saturday night and he doesn&#8217;t have a timeline for Thomas to return to contact drills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cThat&#8217;s one thing I&#8217;ll never do: I&#8217;ll never put a player on the field until he is ready,\u201d Rivera said.  \u201cWhen the trainers and the doctors tell me he&#8217;s cleared, he&#8217;ll be cleared.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The night before Thomas was activated, New York Giants rookie defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux took almost the same hit Thomas did in December in Las Vegas against the Raiders.  In both instances, a tight end came across the formation to block the backside of a run and one player dived at the other&#8217;s knees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">In New York, Thibodeaux&#8217;s knee avoided the same devastation \u2014 he a sprained MCL \u2014 but to Thomas, the play underscored the danger of blocks below the knee.  He pointed out that Philadelphia Eagles tight end Tyree Jackson was injured on a similar play last season.  Such cut blocks are legal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cBelow the knee is kind of the cutoff point,\u201d Thomas said, adding: \u201cWe&#8217;re actually coached to stay above the knee.  It&#8217;s more effective that way.  Obviously, the chance for injury is a whole lot lower.  Chance for injury to the person who&#8217;s actually doing the cut block is lower, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Rivera, who is on the NFL&#8217;s competition committee, said he hopes the league will look into outlawing the cut block.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Behind his helmet visor at practice, Thomas smiled while blocking, and the team probably felt a similar relief.  Washington put Wolf on injured reserve Monday, ending his season, and continued overhauling the tight end position by claiming Kendall Blanton off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams and signing 2021 undrafted free agent Jake Hausmann.  The team finally had four healthy tight ends as John Bates (calf), Cole Turner (hamstring) and Curtis Hodges continued working on the side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Washington has high hopes for Thomas this season.  He&#8217;s 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, and with a 34 1\/4-inch wingspan, he possesses the large catch radius the Commanders&#8217; front office targeted in the draft to help the big-armed but imprecise Wentz.  Rivera called him the team&#8217;s only \u201ctruly well-rounded\u201d tight end who can block and catch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">The value of his versatility will probably show up in the biggest moments.  In 2020, when Thomas broke out and solidified himself as one of the league&#8217;s better tight ends, he was an elite red-zone threat and third-down target.  Last year, injuries limited him to just six games, and the team clearly missed his presence in both areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\">Why Ron Rivera believes Carson Wentz can be Commanders&#8217; long-term answer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">After Wentz threw his first pass to Thomas on the field, some players and coaches lightly applauded, seemingly an acknowledgment of the grueling work Thomas had put in to come back.  During the few routes, Thomas noticed the zip on Wentz&#8217;s passes.  He said it would take reps to learn the quarterback&#8217;s body language and timing but what he saw excited him about the offense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cIt looks really good,\u201d he said.  \u201cWe got talent in every position.  We&#8217;re tough.  We&#8217;re physical running the ball.  We can be very good.  Pass game, obviously, we got weapons everywhere.  For us, it&#8217;s just about consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Thomas pointed to the Kansas City Chiefs loss last week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cWe got off to a hot start, moved the ball and then stalled out,\u201d he said.  \u201cThe next possession, same thing.  Stalled out.  It&#8217;s just being able to sustain, keep the chains moving and ultimately punch it in and score points \u2014 because we should be able to move the ball anytime we want.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">After months in individual drills, practicing with and talking about the team seemed like an emotional lift for Thomas.  He called it \u201ca little boost\u201d from the \u201cmonotonous grind\u201d and said his return a week ahead of schedule was providing him with a little more hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cAll along, I&#8217;ve always said I wanted to play Week 1,\u201d he said.  \u201cWhether I&#8217;m on track for that \u2026 we&#8217;ll come to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"b bt bc-offblack dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comment on this story Comment Last week, as Washington Commanders tight end Logan Thomas underwent extra tests with the team&#8217;s training staff, the results indicated something unexpected: His legs were more powerful this year than last. For the past eight months, Thomas, 31, has been rehabbing from surgery after he tore the ACL, medial collateral &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/commanders-tight-end-logan-thomas-to-practice-for-first-time-in-2022\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Commanders tight end Logan Thomas to practice for first time in 2022<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53386\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}