Bills sign Logan Thomas, who had just become tight end on Lions practice squad

Forty-eight hours ago Logan Thomas was an unemployed quarterback. Since then he’s changed positions, changed teams twice and now finds himself on a 53-man roster.

Meet tight end Logan Thomas, the guy who signed to the Detroit Lions’ practice squad on Monday and who on Tuesday was signed to the Buffalo Bills’ active roster.

Yes, this is the same Thomas who played quarterback at Virginia Tech — he looked like a first-rounder after his sophomore season, too — and was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals. Thomas didn’t stick there but also spent time on the rosters of the the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants. And yes, he was still a quarterback then. His career numbers: 1-of-9 passing for 81 yards — and it was a TD, too.

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But the Lions were a team that saw the athletic potential of the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Thomas and tried to groom him on their scout team. The Bills, however, appear to be even more enthused about his upside, having used a roster spot to nab him.

Check out the initial report of him signing with the Bills from Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager:

OK, no one is saying that Thomas is the Terrelle Pryor of QBs-turned-TEs. But Shutdown Corner spoke with two different teams’ personnel men prior to the 2014 NFL draft who said they preferred him at tight end over quarterback, where he hadn’t really progressed — and may actually have regressed in his final two seasons with the Hokies — after a breakout 2011 season. Thomas was recruited to Tech as a tight end and actually was Rivals’ top TE prospect coming out of high school as well as its No. 71 overall player that year.

Here’s a 2014 pre-draft video discussing just this possibilty:

The Bills have nothing to lose here, really. Yes, they’re still in a playoff race and could sign a player (to replace the suspended Seantrell Henderson on the roster) with more readiness to contribute. But progressive teams always are trying to think about tomorrow without sacrificing today. Thomas is 25 and has room to grow in the system — if the Bills like what they see, of course — for the rest of this season, all of the minicamps and OTAs and into training camp next year. It would be a cheap, worthy investment for a special athlete who is in need of a career reboot.

Pryor likely is a unicorn, but if the Bills can make Thomas into a contributor, they’ll look very smart. He’s big, athletic and has a background at the position. Besides, are you crying for them to use the underproductive Charles Clay and Nick O’Leary more? Those had been the only two other tight ends on the roster.

We like the gamble. Even if the Bills cut Thomas a week from now, it was worth the look.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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