Michael Thomas’ career with the New Orleans Saints was off to a legendary start, but the past 12 months have been quite rough for the former Offensive Player of the Year.
Last season, Thomas missed a significant amount of time because of an ankle injury. He waited until after the season was over to go under the knife, but the timing of his procedure was a bit odd.
The medical staff for New Orleans told Thomas that he needed surgery shortly after the team’s playoff exit. Thomas, however, decided to get a second opinion on his ankle. After receiving a second opinion, Thomas opted to rest and rehab with the hope that he’d be ready for training camp. Unfortunately, those plans didn’t come to fruition.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Thomas decided to ignore the Saints’ phone calls for several months. Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com broke that shocking news this Saturday.
“For unknown reasons, Thomas fell out of communication with the Saints. He did not return multiple calls over the next three months,” Duncan wrote, via NOLA.com. “Then-Saints trainer Beau Lowery, wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson and head coach Sean Payton all tried to reach Thomas. None of their calls were taken or returned.”
If you’re still curious about the Mike Thomas situation and how it all went down, my column might help explain why the situation was so disappointing — and unusual — for the Saints….
Link: https://t.co/0Umqx0tMc7
— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) August 7, 2021
The NFL world is a bit shocked that Thomas’ relationship with the Saints has reached this point. Some people are questioning if things changed after he landed a massive contract extension.
“Michael Thomas signed a 5-year, $100 million contract extension with $61 million guarantees with the Saints and everything went downhill after that,” NFL reporter Dov Kleiman tweeted.
Michael Thomas signed a 5-year, $100 million contract extension with $61 million guarantees with the #Saints and everything went downhill after that. https://t.co/cwT60uVOum
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 7, 2021
If the Saints’ relationship with Thomas is truly that damaged, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll remain in New Orleans for the duration of his five-year contract.
I just can’t see Michael Thomas being on the Saints for the duration of his contract. Seems like we’re heading toward an inevitable breakup.
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) August 7, 2021
It may seem like gloom and doom for the Saints right now, but there are some fans taking an optimistic approach to this situation.
“The Duncan article said ‘Thomas has been a good soldier since the incident.’ It had to have been humbling for Michael Thomas to enter the practice facility in June and tell everyone his ankle is still hurt. I think this story is going to end better than a lot of you think,” one Saints fan wrote.
The Duncan article said “Thomas has been a good soldier since the incident.”
It had to have been humbling for Michael Thomas to enter the practice facility in June and tell everyone his ankle is still hurt.
I think this story is going to end better than a lot of you think.
— Ian Riise (@HomesickWhoDat) August 7, 2021
When healthy, Thomas is one of the best playmakers in the game. We saw just how dangerous he can be in 2019, when he set the single-season record for most receptions.
A trade involving Thomas isn’t imminent at this time, but it seems like he’s running out of strikes in New Orleans.
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