Patriots Sign WR Demaryius Thomas

The New England Patriots have made a huge offseason acquisition, signing free agent wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

The 31-year-old Thomas is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos (2010-18) and Houston Texans (2018). Last season, the five-time Pro Bowler started the season with the Broncos and played the first eight games, with 36 catches for 402 yards and three touchdowns, before he was traded to Houston. He started seven games for the Texans with 23 catches for 275 yards and two scores. He suffered an Achilles injury in the regular-season finale and missed the playoffs.

The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Thomas gives the Patriots something they sorely needed: a tall, strong, deep threat receiver with a championship pedigree (he won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos), even if he is on the downside of his career.

The real question is whether or not Thomas can rebound from the Achilles injury, although he is pacing to return from the injury much quicker than expected. He should be able to get into the mix with Tom Brady fairly quickly; he had current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as a head coach in Denver, and former Pats OC Bill O’Brien as his coach in Houston, so he should be well-versed in the Patriots playbook.

The Patriots also re-signed restricted free agent defensive back Jonathan Jones on Tuesday.