Free Agency Preview 2024: Tight Ends

February 9, 2024

by Alex Zeese

The situation with free agent tight ends

When it comes to the skill positions on the Washington offense, the tight end room is probably the weakest group and normally one would think that it’s an area of next season. However, the changes to the coaching staff could have an intriguing impact on this group and what direction the team decides to go in.

This is a position that could see some major changes. The young tight ends that were on the roster in 2023 have by and large not panned out. There was much hype about Cole Turner, and it turned out to be a whole lot of noise. John Bates has produced a bit as a blocker but puts up number 3 tight end stats in the passing game. Meanwhile, Logan Thomas is still a solid contributor at the position; he had 55 receptions for 496 yards and 4 touchdowns last year. However, is age, 32, and his salary, will start to be more and more of a factor in roster decisions.

Changes could be coming for a different reason, though. The Washington Commanders’ new offensive coach, Kliff Kingsbury is most known for his air raid offense, a scheme know for using four wide receivers and a running back more than most other personal groups. However, Kingsbury did acquire the veteran Zach Ertz in his final season in Arizona. It will be very interesting to see how the team approaches the tight end position.

The free agent market at tight end is not terribly strong this season – from the list of potential free agents, just ten players had over 300 snaps on offense, and one of them is 39, Marcedes Lewis, so I didn’t bother to include him in the table below. If the team decides that it does want to move on from Thomas, there will be a few big names potentially available that would fit Kingsbury’s vertical passing attack.

There are three names to focus on: Hunter Henry, Dalton Schultz, and Noah Fant. All are established starting TE’s who averaged over 10 yards per reception last season and would likely work well in the vertical passing game.

Schultz, 27, leads the free agent class this year when it comes to overall yardage. He had 635 yards in 59 receptions while with the Texans. He’s at an age where a team could feel safe in giving him a big contract, knowing that he would likely stay productive the next 3 years.

Fant is the youngest of that trio, at 26, and had the best per-play production average of 12.9 yards per reception last year. His overall production with the Seahawks wasn’t as good as when he was in Denver, and with the coaching change he may be looking to move on.

Lastly, Henry. The 29 year old had 42 catches for 419 yards last season in New England. He had a steady decline in his overall production the last few years with the Patriots. While this could be a flag for general managers to watch out for, it could also be a “value” move, where he could cost you less than some of the others.

While I am of the mind that a good tight end will be a huge asset for whoever is under center next year. Given how the tight end isn’t a priority in the air raid system I would be surprised to see the team make a major investment in the position. In the end, the team may just want to stick with Logan Thomas through the final year of his deal & look to address it next season once the coaching staff has a better idea of what this offense will be.