His career in the Big Easy started with a bang, but it appears Michael Thomas’s time with the black and gold will end after a number of injury-plagued seasons put a halt to his historic production.
According to Fox 8 Saints analyst Jeff Duncan, the Saints will be releasing Thomas in the coming days, sometime after the March 13 start to the new league year.
A second-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Thomas quickly developed incredible chemistry with then-quarterback Drew Brees, tallying 92 receptions in his first NFL season for 1,137 yards and nine touchdowns.
Soon, the man known on social media as “CantGuardMike” was even exceeding that lofty self-proclamation. He set an NFL record in 2019 with 149 catches, leading the league with 1,725 receiving yards, a new Saints record for a single season. He also once again caught nine TDs.
The banner season earned Thomas the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award and was the impetus for a new five-year, $96 million contract.
But soon after signing that deal, Thomas was bitten hard by the injury bug, appearing in just seven games in 2020, three games in 2022 and missing the entire 2021 season in between.
In 2023, at age 30, Thomas did manage something of a comeback, playing in 10 games for the Saints and catching 39 passes for 448 yards, but off the field he was arrested for criminal mischief by Kenner police and drew headlines for social media posts critical of current Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr.
In the wake of Duncan's report, Thomas fired off a series of salty responses on social media.
Last season, Thomas ranked fourth on the team in receptions and receiving yards, trailing fellow receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and running back Alvin Kamara in both categories.