5 players Commanders will be thrilled to have back on the field in 2022

3. Logan Thomas

Coming off a career year in 2020 in which he tallied 72 catches for 670 yards and six touchdowns, Commanders fans set fairly high expectations for Thomas entering 2021. Unfortunately, the  breakout tight end couldn’t stay on the field.

The saddest part? Thomas looked like he was going to pick up right where he left off two seasons ago before injuries entered the picture.

Over the first three games, he managed 12 catches for 117 yards and two scores. Just five snaps into Week 4 against Atlanta, though, Thomas went down with a hamstring injury that shelved him for the next six weeks. He returned to play in two games, in which he notched another score and 79 receiving yards to boot.

We all know what happened after that:

Thomas suffered a torn ACL on what was very clearly a cheap shot from Raiders edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue, who went out of his way to dive at Thomas’ knee despite the fact Thomas wasn’t involved in the play.

The 30-year-old’s task on the play was to seal the left side in case Antonio Gibson needed a cutback option. Since Thomas’ services weren’t required, he essentially had the play off. That didn’t stop Ngakoue from blindsiding Thomas (who couldn’t brace himself) with a helmet-to-knee shot.

It was an incredibly unfair end to what had the makings to be another special season from Thomas and Washington will be better off when he’s back in the lineup, which will likely come a weeks into the 2022 schedule.