The 49ers are bringing in much-needed depth to what is arguably their weakest position group behind George Kittle. San Francisco's tight end room has a lot of unproven youth and one underwhelming veteran in Eric Saubert.
Now, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the 49ers have signed former longtime Commanders tight end Logan Thomas.
It will be the second time that the 49ers have brought in a former Washington veteran tight end to play with Kittle. They attempted it in 2020 with the oft-injured Jordan Reed, but he and Kittle were mostly unable to stay on the field at the same time in that injury-riddled campaign.
Thomas, a 2014 fourth-round Cardinals draft pick out of Virginia Tech, began his career as a quarterback before transitioning to tight end. He had one breakout season in 2020, going for 72 catches, 670 yards and 6 TDs. The soon-to-be 33-year-old's second-best season came last year, when he tallied 55 catches for 496 yards and 4 TDs in 16 games for one of the league's worst teams.
The addition is substantial given that the 49ers' tight end room around Kittle was composed of Saubert, the still-not-healthy Cam Latu, Brayden Willis, undrafted free agent Mason Pline, and Jake Tonges. Depth was needed, and now the 49ers have a player who, if healthy, (as has mostly been the case aside from 2021, when he tore his ACL), will be a very solid TE2.