The last time Michael Thomas suited up for the Saints in the 2023 season was in Week 10, but his criticism has made regular appearances.
After deactivating his account midseason following a barrage of Tweets during a Saints loss to the Lions, the @CantGuardMike handle re-emerged in the days following the Saints' Week 18 win over the Falcons that ended the season. It remained mostly dormant regarding his team for several weeks, but he had grievances to air as he watched the Chiefs face the Ravens in the AFC Championship.
"You see what they said about how Mahomes used his eyes there," Thomas posted, a callback to prior rant directed at quarterback Derek Carr.
It was clearly a topic Thomas was ready to weigh in on, with a host of replies, quote tweets and more commentary that directed his ire at a "bad ball" from his quarterback, not being emphasized enough in the offense and what he sees as team efforts to discredit him. Thomas also referenced that the Saints have yet hired an OC, and insinuated that they were struggling to do so. The Saints have interviewed a host of candidates, but have yet to make a hire after they moved on from longtime OC Pete Carmichael.
The Saints also fired WRs coach Kodi Burns following the 2023 season.
"Exactly every week as if I wasn’t open," Thomas posted in reference to the idea of not getting targeted enough in games. "On top of that we was going 3 and out which would be considered insanity. This business is based on improving."
Thomas has battled injuries since his record-setting season in 2019, but he appeared to have kicked that in the 2023 season, appearing in the first 9 games without issue. That changed on the first offensive possession in Week 10 against the Vikings when he took a helmet to his knee after a catch early in the game. While head coach Dennis Allen initially indicated the injury wasn't expected to be season-ending, Thomas never returned, and he referenced that throw in his tweetstorm on Sunday.
"Well if I didn’t get set up by a bad ball I probably would’ve had a light little 1k yards this year but could of should of I know I get it lol," Thomas wrote.
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The 30-year-old Thomas finished the year with 39 catches for 448 yards and a touchdown.
Allen and GM Mickey Loomis downplayed any tension in the locker room, but Thomas' social media outbursts have spoken for themselves. Loomis notably had a meeting with players following the end of the regular season to set the tone going into the offseason. He said that message was well received, and the team is clearly hoping it can build on a strong finish with four wins in its final five games to finish 9-8, driven by a core group of young players.
“I thought he was doing well and really excited about where he was and then, look, he had another injury," Loomis said. "It’s really difficult for us and for Mike to have to go through that. He’s such a great competitor, wants to win so badly, wants to be out there so badly, and, you know, for him to get hurt again was difficult.”
The next question will be the future for Thomas, whose deal is set to void at the end of this season. A reworked deal to keep Thomas in town would be beneficial to the Saints in terms of avoiding an $18 million dead cap bill, but that seems to be increasingly unlikely.