They won’t be able to use him Monday night against the New York Jets, but the New England Patriots claimed tight end Jordan Thomas off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, according to the NFL transaction wire.
Thomas, a 2018 sixth-round pick out of Mississippi State, is 6-foot-5, 277 pounds and has 22 career receptions for 226 yards with five touchdowns in 25 career games. He caught 20 passes for 215 yards with four touchdowns as a rookie in 2018.
Thomas was drafted by Houston, where he played under former Texans head coach — and ex-Patriots offensive coordinator — Bill O’Brien. So, he comes to New England with knowledge of a similar offense.
Thomas ran a 4.74-second 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine. He’ll join Ryan Izzo and Dalton Keene on the Patriots’ tight end depth chart with Devin Asiasi and Jake Burt both on injured reserve.
Keene is inactive Monday with a knee injury that also kept him out of Week 8.
The Patriots also have three tight ends, Dylan Cantrell, David Wells and Charles Jones, in for tryouts.
Thomas was waived by the Texans on Sept. 5 and signed to the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad Sept. 8. He was signed to the Cardinals’ active roster Sept. 22 and waived Nov. 7. He’ll officially be added to the Patriots’ 53-man roster on Tuesday with a roster exemption.
NESN.com mentioned Thomas as a potential trade candidate for the Patriots in early September before roster cuts.
