The Jacksonville Jaguars have made an addition to their offense on Friday. They signed veteran running back Chris Thompson to a one-year deal, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
RB Chris Thompson is signing a one-year deal with the Jaguars, per source. Good pass-catching option out of the backfield for Gardner Minshew.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 1, 2020
Thompson spent his first seven seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins. In that time, he has established himself as one of the best receiving backs in the league.
However, Thompson has also had plenty of injury issues in his past.
He's played in 16 games just once and 13-plus games just twice. Due to that, it was probably a little easier for Washington to let him walk this offseason.
Still, Thompson is extremely deadly. The 29-year-old has had at least 35 receptions in each of the last five seasons. And that's despite the injury problems. Thompson could be an incredible weapon for quarterback Gardner Minshew for a few reasons.
First of all, he excels at catching short passes and taking them a long way. He can also run routes well though, and can spread the offense and run deep as well.
At the same time, Thompson has never been the feature back. So having Leonard Fournette there shouldn't be an issue. The running back is used to being reserved to third down and receiving back duties. So it's not like he's going to get upset if that's his role in Jacksonville.
Thompson is also an underrated runner. He averages 4.8 yards per carry in his career (1,194 yards and five touchdowns on 250 carries).
That means he is a threat to run it whenever he's on the field, which will leave opposing defenses guessing.
This is a good low-risk, high-reward signing for the Jaguars. Yes, Thompson has injury concerns, but with it being a one-year deal, that's not too much of an issue. If things don't work out, they can go their separate ways after the 2020 season.
However, if things do work out, Thompson can help get the absolute most out of a growing Minshew.
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