Thomas inks with Lions, Taylor heads to ChargersThomas inks with Lions, Taylor heads to Chargers
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Thomas inks with Lions, Taylor heads to Chargers

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March Madness isn't limited to the basketball court as free agency has begun in the National Football League.

TE Logan Thomas became the latest Virginia Tech alum to switch teams, signing a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions on Thursday. The former Tech quarterback made the move to tight end in the NFL ranks in 2016. He spent the past two seasons in Buffalo, playing in 24 games (five starts), catching 19 passes for 144 yards with one TD. He originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick by Arizona in the 2014 NFL Draft.
 
The Lynchburg, Virginia native concluded his career as Tech's all-time leader in passing yards (9,008), TD passes (53), pass completions (693) and pass attempts (1,248).

The first Tech alum to switch teams was QB Tyrod Taylor who agreed to a reported two-year contract worth $11 million in base salary plus a guaranteed $6 million in 2019 as reported by NFL's Network's Ian Rapoport.

Taylor will be reunited with Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn who previously served as his offensive coordinator in Buffalo.
 
"Our time in Buffalo was special," Taylor told Ricky Henne of Chargers.com. "It was a unique situation for him. He ended up inheriting the offensive coordinator job, where we worked day in and day out trying to do whatever it took to win games. And then he ended up taking over being the head coach the last day of the season. Seeing him handle what he went through that year, starting out as the running backs coach to offensive coordinator to interim head coach, and how he handled the pressure and was able to stay the same person day in and day out, I definitely admired that. I think it speaks a lot about the man's character. That's something I'll always remember because he was able to push us through and inspire us at times when it might not have been so comfortable for us. So, when an opportunity comes up where I can get back to working with him, I'm definitely excited for it."

Taylor will enter his ninth NFL campaign in 2019. In 62 regular season games (46 starts), the Tech alum has thrown for 9,529 yards with 53 TDs and only 20 INTs, while rushing for 1,836 yards with 16 scores.

While Taylor switched teams, S Antone Exum, Jr. signed a one-year deal to stay with San Francisco after originally joining the 49ers in 2017.
 
Exum Jr. has played in 44 regular season NFL games (10 starts) and registered 58 tackles, 1.0 sack, one interception (returned for a touchdown), two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defensed. Last season with San Francisco, Exum Jr. appeared 15 games (seven starts) and registered career highs in tackles (37), passes defensed (seven), interceptions (one, which was returned for a touchdown) and sacks (1.0), while adding one forced fumble.
 
The Glen Allen, Virginia native appeared 44 games (35 starts) at Virginia Tech , including starts in the final 30 games he in which he played. He finished his career with 186 tackles, 36 passes defensed, six interceptions, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 1.5 sacks and earned All-ACC honors two times (Honorable Mention – 2011 & Second-Team – 2012).

Macho Harris, who earned All-America honors for the Hokies in 2008, officially concluded his professional playing career by signing a one-day contract to retire with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders.
 
Harris spent five seasons in the CFL, playing 59 career regular-season games and two playoff games. 
The Virginia Tech product collected 149 tackles and four interceptions in 44 regular season games with Saskatchewan. He was also a member of the Riders 2013 Grey Cup-winning team. 
 
Harris spent three seasons in the NFL before coming to Canada. He played 15 games with Philadelphia Eagles in 2009 and three games with the Washington Redskins in 2010. Harris spent his final CFL season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2016.   
 
Hokies on NFL Rosters (As of March 21, 2019)
 
CB Adonis Alexander              Washington
T Duane Brown                        Seattle
S Chuck Clark                           Baltimore
LB Tremaine Edmunds           Buffalo
RB Trey Edmunds                   Pittsburgh
S Terrell Edmunds                   Pittsburgh
S Antone Exum, Jr.                  San Francisco
CB Brandon Facyson              L.A. Chargers
WR Isaiah Ford                         Miami
CB Kendall Fuller                     Kansas City
CB Kyle Fuller                           Chicago
TE Bucky Hodges                    Pittsburgh
WR Cam Phillips                      Buffalo
DT Tim Settle                             Washington
CB Greg Stroman                    Washington
QB Tyrod Taylor                       L.A. Chargers
G Wyatt Teller                           Buffalo
TE Logan Thomas                   Detroit
 
Other Hokies in NFL Roles
Bruce Arians                   Tampa Bay         Head Coach
Malcolm Blacken             Washington        Director of Player Development
Nathan DiGregorio           Arizona              Scouting Assistant
Keith Gray                      Philadelphia        Assistant Strength & Conditioning
Chad Grimm                   Washington        Outside Linebackers
Cody Grimm                   Tampa Bay         Defensive/Special Teams Assistant
Jeff King                        Chicago             Pro Scout
Anthony Midget               Houston             Secondary
Sam Nichols                   Washington        Assistant Equipment Manager
Johnny Shelton               Baltimore           Team Chaplain
Nick Sorensen                Seattle               Secondary