Michael Thomas (WR) - Pro Football Rumors

Saints Sitting Michael Thomas In Week 5 After Altercation With Teammate

October 11th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

This isn’t what the Saints needed ahead of their pivotal Monday Night Football date with the Chargers. Star receiver Michael Thomas won’t be playing, and it’s not because of his ankle injury.

Thomas had an altercation with a teammate at practice this weekend and the Saints are sitting him as discipline, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Thomas punched safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson during a fight, sources told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). Thomas apparently got into the altercation on Friday and was told to leave practice, according to a tweet from Josina Anderson of ESPN. Thomas then met with head coach Sean Payton on Sunday, where he was fined for conduct detrimental to the team and told he wouldn’t be playing Monday.

Anderson added that Thomas is expected to rejoin the team sometime next week. It’s been a frustrating campaign for the superstar, as he suffered a high ankle sprain in New Orleans’ Week 1 win over the Buccaneers. Drew Brees hasn’t looked his sharpest this season as the team has started 2-2, and this certainly isn’t what the offense needed to get back on track.

The Saints are favorites of about a touchdown against Los Angeles, so maybe they feel confident they can get by them even without their top receiver. Thomas had practiced this week and while it wasn’t certain, it was looking like he was set to make his return prior to these developments. Tre’Quan Smith and Emmanuel Sanders will continue holding down the fort. Hopefully for Saints fans this isn’t a sign of any further locker room issues.

Saints’ Michael Thomas Out Vs. Lions

October 2nd, 2020 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Wide receiver Michael Thomas has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Lions, per a club announcement. Thomas has been chomping at the bit to return, but the Saints are taking the cautious approach to protect his long-term availability.

Doctors told Thomas that he’d be out for several weeks after suffering a high-ankle sprain in mid-September, but he pushed back when the Saints considered placing him on injured reserve, which would have ruled him out for a minimum of three weeks. The 27-year-old has missed only one game since entering the league in 2016.

Drew Brees has struggled thus far in 2020, and Thomas’ return would go a long way towards firing up the offense. Over the last five years, Thomas has racked up 473 catches for 5,529 yards and 32 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the league’s very best offensive weapons. Last year, he led the NFL with 149 catches and 1,725 yards while matching his previous career-high of nine scores.

Unfortunately for the Saints, Thomas won’t be the only starter out of action this weekend. Cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, tight end Jared Cook, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and guard Andrus Peat have also been officially ruled out for Sunday.

Injury Notes: Baker, Thomas, Hunter

September 27th, 2020 at 8:52am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals star safety Budda Baker is playing through a torn UCL in his thumb, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Baker plans to play in Arizona’s game against the Lions this afternoon and then undergo surgery this week. Although the same injury sidelined Saints QB Drew Brees for six weeks last season, Baker obviously does not have to throw the football and believes he will miss only the Cardinals’ Week 4 contest against the Panthers before returning to the field to take on the Jets in Week 5.

Now for more injury-related news regarding a few of the league’s high-profile players:

There has been a great deal of talk about Brees’ struggles early this season, but the Saints‘ signal-caller may soon have his top target back. Wide receiver Michael Thomas has looked good in workouts and is eyeing a Week 4 return, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
The Vikings need a boost on both sides of the ball, and they are clearly missing DE Danielle Hunter. As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets, Hunter, who is dealing with a herniated disc in his neck, is eligible to come off IR next week but is unlikely to be ready to return by then. However, he is regaining strength, and the team remains optimistic that he will be back this season.
Titans WR A.J. Brown is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee, and the injury is a significant one, according to Schefter (via Twitter). Brown’s knee has not responded as well to treatment as the team had hoped, and he might end up missing more than just this afternoon’s game against Minnesota.
More difficult news for Tennessee. Titans CB Adoree’ Jackson is eligible to come off IR this week, but Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com hears that Jackson may not be sufficiently recovered from his knee injury for that to happen (Twitter link). It’s unclear how much additional time the 2017 first-rounder will miss.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel is likely to return to practice this week, as Rapoport notes (via Twitter). Samuel will be eased into action, and while he probably won’t play in Week 4, the Niners’ top wideout is expected back for the team’s Week 5 bout with the Dolphins.

Saints Rule Out Michael Thomas For Week 2

September 19th, 2020 at 3:10pm CST by Zachary Links

SEPTEMBER 19: The Saints will be cautious with their All-Pro wide receiver. They have ruled Thomas out of their Week 2 game against the Raiders. Thomas did not practice this week, and his status for Week 3 should be considered in doubt based on the information that has surfaced.

SEPTEMBER 18: Doctors told Michael Thomas that he’d miss several weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain. However, the Saints wide receiver “felt fantastic” at Thursday’s practice and there’s a “little glimmer of hope” he can play on Monday night against the Raiders, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).

It’s still unlikely that Thomas will suit up in Las Vegas, but it’s promising news nonetheless. Saints officials, who wanted to place Thomas on IR to sideline him for a minimum of three weeks, were pleasantly surprised by his early progress.

The 27-year-old has missed only one game since entering the league in 2016. Over the last five years, he’s racked up 473 catches for 5,529 yards and 32 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the league’s very best offensive weapons. Last year, he led the NFL with 149 catches and 1,725 yards while matching his previous career-high of nine scores.

The Saints topped the Bucs 34-23 in the season opener, despite Thomas registering just three catches for 17 yards. Of course, in the long run, Thomas would be sorely missed. If Thomas winds up on IR, he’ll miss the next three games against the Raiders, Packers, and Lions at the minimum.

Saints’ Michael Thomas To Miss Time

September 15th, 2020 at 8:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints will be without Michael Thomas for a while. The star wide receiver will be sidelined for several weeks with a high-ankle sprain, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter link).

The Saints want to put Thomas on injured reserve, but he’s pushing back in hopes that he can return inside of three weeks. Based on the diagnosis, Pelissero senses that an extra-speedy recovery is unlikely. The 27-year-old has missed only game as a pro and zero since 2017.

Needless to say, losing Thomas for a month or more would be devastating for the Saints. Thomas is fresh off of a record-shattering 149-catch season in which he finished with 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns. It was an unbelievable encore, even by Thomas’ standards. In the previous season, Thomas set Saints records with 125 catches and 1,405 yards while adding nine TDs. He was wildly efficient, too – Thomas’ catch rate of 84.5% was the highest of any NFL receiver since at least 2001.

But, on the flipside, the Saints did manage to down the Buccaneers on Sunday despite an uncharacteristically quiet game from Thomas. For now, Drew Brees will look to newcomer Emmanuel Sanders for increased support and likely send additional targets towards running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Jared Cook.

Saints Restructure Contracts Of Michael Thomas, Terron Armstead

March 18th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are clearing up some cap space. New Orleans has restructured the contracts of receiver Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Terron Armstead, a source told Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (Twitter link).

Underhill adds that they haven’t restructured Janoris Jenkins‘ deal yet, but that it’s a possibility moving forward. The Saints are clearly going all in on 2020 and one or two last rides with Drew Brees, and they’re trying to maximize this window. We just heard that almost all of the money going to Brees this year is a signing bonus in order to reduce his 2020 cap hit, and now they’re getting even more flexibility.

It’s unclear exactly what financial tweaks were made to Thomas and Armstead’s deals, although it’s likely they just had 2020 salary converted to signing bonus money to spread out the cap hits over the duration of their respective contracts. Thomas signed a massive five-year, $100MM extension last July that made him the highest-paid receiver of all time.

The record-breaking wideout is under contract through the 2024 season, and will be in New Orleans long after Brees finally hangs up his cleats. Armstead signed a five-year, $65MM extension back in 2016, and is signed through the 2021 campaign. He had $10.2MM in salary converted to a signing bonus in November of 2018 to create the cap space to sign Dez Bryant.

The Saints added another veteran player earlier today in safety Malcolm Jenkins, giving them more ammo for their 2020 run. With Tom Brady now in the division, the NFC South is about to get a lot tougher.

Extra Points: Thomas, Meredith, Buccaneers

August 2nd, 2019 at 9:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Soon after Michael Thomas received his five-year, $100MM extension from the Saints, we heard that it wasn’t quite $100MM in reality. The base of the deal is $96.25MM, with incentives in the final couple of years that will be very hard to reach which could bump it up to $100MM. Now we have full details on the contract, courtesy of Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Florio has a year by year breakdown off all the incentives and bonuses Thomas will get. To reach the full value of $100MM, Thomas “needs to do each of the following in 2022 and 2023: Catch 100 passes, gain 1,400 yards, score 12 touchdowns, and get to the playoffs.”

Florio notes that the fully guaranteed portion of the deal is $35.64MM, “covering the first two years and a slice of 2021.” He seems to think the Saints aren’t actually tied to Thomas for too long if they don’t want to be, writing “the rolling guarantees give the Saints plenty of flexibility beyond 2020.” Thomas has put up absurd numbers in his first three years in the league, and he was the only consistent receiver New Orleans had for a lot of last season. Drew Brees was often throwing to a rotating cast of undrafted free agents and castoffs last year, so it’s safe to say they need Thomas.

Here’s more from around the league:

Receiver Cameron Meredith landed on his feet as he signed with the Patriots earlier today, but he apparently isn’t fully healthy. New England placed him on the active/PUP list after inking him, per Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Meredith had a breakout 2016 campaign but then missed the entire 2017 season with a devastating knee injury and hasn’t been the same since. The Saints finally gave up on him and released him earlier this week after he was never able to fully recover during his time in New Orleans. Since it’s the active/PUP list and not the reserve/PUP list, Meredith could be activated at any time and resume practicing. He isn’t the only Patriots receiver that’s banged up, as the Pats are also waiting on Demaryius Thomas and Julian Edelman to heal up.
Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians promised to hire women when he got hired by Tampa Bay, and he followed through by bringing on two female assistant coaches back in March. He didn’t stop there, as the Bucs have also hired Carly Helfand as a scouting assistant, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Laine notes that she also worked for Penn and the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL. She was the only woman interviewed out of ten candidates, and Laine notes the Buccaneers were “very impressed” with her.
In case you missed it, we took a look at a few potential landing spots for Redskins left tackle Trent Williams.

Fallout From Michael Thomas’ Deal With Saints

July 31st, 2019 at 2:09pm CST by Zachary Links

On Wednesday, Michael Thomas and the Saints agreed to a deal that will keep the standout wide receiver in the fold through the 2024 season. The contract was initially reported to be worth $100MM over five years, but those numbers don’t quite tell the whole story.

Here’s the latest on Thomas’ shiny new pact:

Thomas extension has a base value of $19.25MM per year, Mike Florio of PFT tweets. He can get to $20MM per year – giving him the initial reported value of $100MM in total, but as Florio’s source puts it, “He has to do some crazy sh-t in the last two years of the deal.”
Thomas’ new contract is the first real movement at the wide receiver position since A.J. Green‘s 2015 extension, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap tweets. The yearly record set by Green’s deal has been broken multiple times in the last four years, but this is the first contract to truly top its $20MM in inflated annual value.
The Thomas deal will play well in the Saints’ locker room, Jeff Duncan of the The Athletic tweets. The team’s core of young stars – including Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, and Sheldon Rankins – will know they’ll be taken care of if they continue to produce.
The holdout-ending deal was the smart move by the Saints, NJ.com’s Darryl Slater opines. The monster numbers could come back to haunt them, but Slater’s feeling is that it was worthwhile to end Thomas’ holdout, especially considering the fact that Drew Brees has a limited championship window.

Saints, Michael Thomas Agree To Deal

July 31st, 2019 at 8:06am CST by Zachary Links

It’s a done deal. And it’s one for the record books (for now, at least).

On Wednesday morning, the Saints and Michael Thomas agreed to a five-year, $100MM extension with $61MM guaranteed, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The new deal makes him the league’s highest-paid receiver of all-time on a yearly basis.

With the new deal, Thomas is tied to New Orleans through the 2024 season. In 2019, he’ll still earn a paltry $1.148MM in the final year of his rookie contract, but he’s already locked in plenty of dough at signing.

The deal marks plenty of firsts for the Saints as well. They’ve never paid a non-QB skill-position player more than $10MM per year, but they’re now paying Thomas $20MM per annum. The previous watermark was owned by tight end Jimmy Graham, who banked $10MM/season before being traded to the Seahawks in 2015.

Last season, Thomas set Saints records with 125 catches and 1,405 yards while adding nine touchdown grabs. He was wildly efficient, too – Thomas’ catch rate of 84.5% was the highest of any NFL receiver since at least 2001.

With Thomas’ deal done, the attention will now shift to fellow standout wide receivers in search of their own monster contracts. Unlike Thomas, Falcons star Julio Jones has participated in training camp, but he is expecting a contract that will either match or exceed Thomas’ in average annual value. There’s also Bengals star A.J. Green to consider, though his recent injury may be a barrier in talks.

Down the line, Thomas’ new deal will also have ramifications for the Cowboys and Chiefs as they consider extensions for Amari Cooper and Tyreek Hill.

Saints, Michael Thomas Nearing Deal (Again)

July 30th, 2019 at 12:35pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints and wide receiver Michael Thomas are close on a new deal, Mike Florio of PFT hears. This was more or less what we heard late last week, but, at long last, the two sides sound like they’re at the goal line.

Thomas has been holding out of Saints camp as he awaits a new deal, much to the chagrin of GM Mickey Loomis. Florio senses that Thomas is gunning for $20MM/year on a five-year deal while the Saints have pitched $19MM/season. Still, there are structural and guarantee issues to be resolved. For now, the Saints have the right to fine Thomas $40K per day missed in camp.

In 2018, Thomas led the league with 125 receptions while racking up 1,405 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.