Lions sign former college QB to practice squad as a TE

The Detroit Lions made a small change to their roster on Monday afternoon. After releasing linebacker Brandon Chubb from the practice squad, they filled his spot with former Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas. However, the Lions didn’t add Thomas as a quarterback, he’s listed as a tight end on Detroit’s roster.

Thomas’ story is an interesting one. He was once touted as a first-round pick in the NFL draft, but as his career at Virginia Tech started to falter, he ended up falling all the way down to the fourth round in 2014, when he landed with the Arizona Cardinals. He only spent a year in Arizona, after the Cardinals decided to trade for Matt Barkley as their third string quarterback in 2015 behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton.

Since then, Thomas has jumped around on the practice squad of both the Dolphins and Giants. New York moved him on and off of the squad several times this season, but after letting him go last Tuesday, the Lions decided to scoop him up on Monday.

The transition to tight end is something that has been long talked about with Thomas. His build—officially 6-foot-6, 250 pounds—is akin to Lions tight end Eric Ebron. In fact, he’s even taller. Their combine measurables are quite comparable, too:

The Lions don’t necessarily need an athletic tight end on their roster, with Eric Ebron having a career year and Detroit having at least a capable backup in rookie Cole Wick. However, with Wick now on the injured reserve list, the Lions now have someone that could backup Ebron in a tight pinch. Although don’t expect that to happen soon, as this will be the first time Thomas has been officially listed as a tight end in his professional career. That will more than likely require a healthy adjustment period.

UPDATE: He's gone.