Kyle Shanahan explains why 49ers signed TE Logan Thomas

The San Francisco 49ers made a late offseason signing on Monday when they signed veteran tight end Logan Thomas, adding depth at the position.

Thomas, 32, has spent the last four seasons with the Washington Commanders, accumulating over 60 targets in three of the four years, with the lone outlier being due to injury.

A good receiver for the position, Thomas had 55 catches for 496 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 while earning 78 targets.

The 49ers had looked for a tight end in free agency this offseason after losing backup Charlie Woerner, initially attempting to sign Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright, but the latter matched the three-year, $12 million contract, keeping him in Michigan.

San Francisco then settled for veteran Eric Saubert on a one-year deal before heading into the latter portion of the offseason, but now have some addition competition with a proven veteran in Thomas.

What led the 49ers to ultimately sign Thomas now?

“I really wanted to just up the competition with the group and get a guy in there who’s had success in this league in the run and pass game,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said about the Thomas signing on Tuesday.” He’s been on a few teams and done it before.”

While the team has seemed comfortable going with their current group, Thomas being available at this stage of the offseason jumped out to the 49ers, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the tight end.

“We like our group and there is some competition there, but having the opportunity at this point in the season to be able to add a veteran like Logan with his skillset and be able to get him in here to come compete and being ready for it was something we’re kind of pumped to pull off at this time,” Shanahan furthered.

Now, while Thomas was signed ahead of mandatory minicamp, Shanahan revealed that the 49ers will have him as an onlooker this week, while giving him the opportunity to hit the field and compete during training camp.

“We’re just going to have him watch this week because he just got here today, and we’ll give him a chance to come in to training camp and compete with those guys.”

With Thomas in the fold, the 49ers have seven tight ends on their 90-man roster: George Kittle, Cameron Latu, Brayden Willis, Mason Pline, Eric Saubert, Jake Tonges, and Thomas.

However, the room has dealt with some injuries, as Kittle is recovering from offseason muscle core surgery, while Latu is rehabbing from a knee procedure that kept him on the Injured Reserve list for his entire rookie season.

Kittle shared during organized team activities (OTAs) that he expects to return for training camp after undergoing surgery, while Kyle Shanahan said that Latu should be good for training camp as well.

“He should be ready around camp,” Shanahan said about Latu on Tuesday. “There hasn’t been any [setbacks].”

The 49ers are slowly shaping up their tight end room, and they’ll likely have a strong competition at the No. 2 spot with a number of veterans and younger players vying for the role behind George Kittle.

Logan Thomas could be seen as the top candidate now, given his prior production, in what should shape up to be a fun training camp at the position.