ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Football Team, already down their best offensive lineman, now will be without their best tight end for at least four weeks.
Washington placed Logan Thomas on injured reserve Wednesday because of a hamstring injury he suffered in the first quarter of Sunday's 34-30 win at Atlanta. According to a source, the team expects him to miss four weeks, which would put him back on the field for the first game after its bye week -- a Nov. 14 matchup vs. Tampa Bay.
In Thomas's first three games, he caught 12 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, he caught 72 passes for 670 yards and six touchdowns. The former quarterback's previous career-high in catches was 16 in 2019 with Detroit. "That's tough to see Logan go down," Washington receiver Terry McLaurin said. "He's a big target even when he's covered. You want to talk about contested catches, even when he's covered he's open."
Washington signed tight end Jace Sternberger off Seattle's practice squad Wednesday. Sternberger caught 12 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown for Green Bay last season.
Veteran Ricky Seals-Jones will become Washington's No. 1 tight end with rookie John Bates as the No. 2. Washington also has Sammis Reyes, a former college basketball player from Chile who has never played in a regular-season football game at any level.
Seals-Jones has three catches for 38 yards and a touchdown this season. He has 63 career receptions. Bates has yet to catch a pass.
"Logan's done a great job throughout the years and we're going to miss him," quarterback Taylor Heinicke said. "It's Ricky's turn. He did a great job against Atlanta. You've seen him progress throughout camp and this year and making some plays. We feel very confident in Ricky."
The offense already will be without veteran guard Brandon Scherff for at least two weeks with a sprained MCL in his knee. Scherff injured his knee Sunday.