Tyquan Thornton's tenure with the New England Patriots lasted less than three full seasons after the team drafted him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Patriots waived the former Baylor speedster prior to Week 11 after he hauled in just four catches for 47 yards on the season.
With no real success to speak of in the NFL it was unclear if Thornton would have a market and how quickly he would be able to land on his feet. Patriots fans got their answer on Monday, however, as Thornton officially signed to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.
This is the best landing spot imaginable for Thornton and in hindsight, we all should have seen this coming after he was waived.
Source: Former #Patriots WR Tyquan Thornton is signing with the #Chiefs practice squad.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 18, 2024
A fresh start for the former second-round pick who was waived Saturday. pic.twitter.com/PnV67x8yh9
Tyquan Thornton joins Chiefs practice squad after Patriots release
Kansas City is the perfect team for Thornton for two key reasons. First, being with the Chiefs gives Thronton a real chance of winning a ring this season. Even if he is not an impactful player for the Chiefs he can be part of a team that has a real chance of winning it all this season.
More importantly for Thornton, the Chiefs are the perfect team to recoup his value. With the best quarterback in the league and one of the greatest offensive minds in league history Thornton is now in a place where he can flash his athletic traits and make a difference at the NFL level.
It will likely take some injuries for the Chiefs to clear out space for Thornton to place but if he gets a chance he could make a tangible difference with Patrick Mahomes throwing him the football. The same opportunities simply did not exist in New England, despite how great Drake Maye has looked as a rookie.
The Patriots seemed to have high hopes for Thornton this year as he was leading the pack at the wide receiver position. However, as the 2024 season went along it became clear that the Pats were losing faith in the young speedy wide receiver.
Thornton is yet another example of a recent failed Bill Belichick draft pick, which is made even more painful by the fact that Belichick missed on so many wideouts in the draft.
Belichick and the Patriots selected Thornton with the 50th pick, four picks before the Chiefs selected fellow speedy wideout, Skyy Moore. Thornton now joins Moore on the Chiefs practice squad looking to once again beat him out.