Tyquan Thornton signs with new team after reported league-wide interest
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Tyquan Thornton signed with the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad on Monday.
Just a few days after getting waived by the New England Patriots, wide receiver Tyquan Thornton has a new team. Thornton signed with the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad on Monday.
A second-round pick by the Patriots in 2022, Thornton struggled to stay on the field in New England. He began his first two seasons on IR, and ended up playing a total of 22 games. This year Thornton appeared in six games for the Patriots, catching four passes on eight targets for 47 yards.
Despite that limited production, there was reportedly significant interest in Thornton throughout the league after he was released by New England. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler there were “more than a dozen teams” interested in Thornton. Fowler named the New Orleans Saints as another suiter along with the Chiefs.
This comes after the Patriots had reportedly explored trading Thornton earlier this season. Ultimately no deal got done and the Patriots ended up keeping seven receivers until this past week.
In the end Thornton ended up with the Chiefs, who have had significant depth issues at wide receiver as they go for their Super Bowl three-peat. Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, and Skyy Moore are all on IR, with Brown and Rice expected to be out for the season.
With that the team has stockpiled players at the wide receiver position throughout the year. Thornton joins a practice squad that already includes four other wide receivers, trying to crack the top group. On the active roster the Chiefs have Mecole Hardman, Justin Waston, Xavier Worthy, recently-acquired DeAndre Hopkins, and former Patriot JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Thornton and Smith-Schuster, who was signed after being cut by the Patriots during training camp – aren’t the only former Patriots in Kansas City. In fact, the defending champs have added four players off the Patriots’ roster this year.
Along with Thornton and Smith-Schuster they also traded for linebacker Joshua Uche ahead of the NFL trade deadline. They also signed quarterback Bailey Zappe to their practice squad after final roster cuts, although he has since been claimed by the Cleveland Browns.
