Things do not appear to be going well between Michael Thomas and the New Orleans Saints.
Saints GM Mickey Loomis and head coach Sean Payton have already expressed their displeasure with Thomas’ decision to wait to get surgery on his ankle until June, and now it seems as if the wide receiver was blowing off calls the team made to check in on his ankle during the offseason, according to Jeff Duncan of Nola.com. (H/T ProFootballTalk)
Trainers and coaches, including head coach Sean Payton, attempted reach out to Thomas over a three-month period this offseason to see how his ankle was doing, but the All-Pro receiver ignored their calls, according to the report.
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Thomas, 28, started in just five games last season due to the ankle injury, but sought a second opinion than that of the team doctors in an attempt to rehab it instead of undergoing surgery.
That ultimately did not work out, and Thomas underwent the surgery in June, which will likely cause him to miss the start of the season.
Last week, Payton called it “disappointing” that Thomas did not choose to get the surgery earlier and added that “quite honestly, it should have [happened sooner]. I’m going to leave it at that.”
The Saints signed Thomas to a five-year, $96.25 million contract extension two summers ago, that would keep him in New Orleans through the 2024 season.
Prior to his injury-plagued 2020 season, Thomas had set the NFL record for receptions in a season with 149 in 2019. With Drew Brees retired, a healty Michael Thomas is of the utmost importance to the Saints offense.
However, if there is a rift between Thomas and the team, it is certainly worth monitoring as Payton has not hesitated to trade disgruntled players in the past, such as Brandin Cooks in 2017.
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