New Orleans Saints’ All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas missed most of the 2020 and all of the 2021 season while dealing with different injuries to his ankle. Thomas initially injured his ankle in week one of the 2020 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Latavius Murray landed on Thomas’ leg at the end of a run play towards the end of the game.
Talk about moments, you wish never happened
Reminder that Michael Thomas suffered the injury that cost him most of 2020 and now the start of 2021 when Sean Payton decided to run up the score on a game already won on Week 1 of 2020.https://t.co/Ul3tTZUecTpic.twitter.com/goq1HvJc8L
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 23, 2021
Thomas missed the next six games after that, and it turned out to be a lot more serious than most thought. Number 13 for the black and gold would come back after that to play for the next six games. He had moments where he looked like himself but was inconsistent and had to go on injured reserve for the rest of the regular season. Thomas was clearly not healthy as he had one of the worst games of his career in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Bucs.
In the following off-season, Thomas had surgery to repair a torn deltoid and other ligaments in his ankle but waited until June to have the procedure. In the recovery process there was a setback which caused Thomas to miss the entire 2021 season.
Sean Payton on Michael Thomas: “The setback was more to do with the procedure he had.”
Payton said he didn’t think that there was anything Thomas could do and is surgically related.
— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) November 3, 2021
In the 2021 season, the Saints struggled to generate points without their best receiver. New Orleans finished 32nd in the NFL, in total passing yards. Their leading receiver was Marquez Callaway who had 46 receptions for 698 yards and six touchdowns. Thomas hasn’t had less than 1,100 yards in a season where he started 12 or more games.
Michael Thomas’ crazy career numbers
In the first four years of Michael Thomas’ career, his stats improved each and every season. As a rookie, he had 1,137 yards on 92 catches with 9 touchdowns. In the 2016 season, Thomas’ nine touchdowns was tied for sixth most in the league. Thomas was also top ten in receptions and yards, finishing with the ninth most in each category.
In his second season, Thomas finished the year with 1,245 receiving yards on 104 catches with 5 touchdowns. Thomas was able to increase his production in both yards and receptions. He had the third most receptions in the league and the sixth most receiving yards. Only a select few wide receivers can say they have had a more productive two year start to their career.
The former Ohio State standout would follow up those first two years by taking it up a few notches in year three. Thomas finished his third season with 125 receptions for 1,405 receiving yards along with nine touchdown catches. The wide out’s chemistry with Drew Brees was very apparent in year three as he not only increased his catches, yards, and touchdowns but was also more efficient as a player. He caught 85% of the passes that were thrown his way. That was a 15% increase from year two. Thomas led the league in receptions, was sixth in receiving yards and tied for tenth in receiving touchdowns.
Thomas had such a great year in his third season. How would he live up the lofty expectations going into year four? Thomas would exceed everyone’s expectations and have a record setting year in 2019. He broke the record for receptions in a season with 149. He also led the league in receiving yards with 1,725 and had nine touchdown catches to go along with it.
That’s a lot of catches for a wide receiver who “only runs slant routes”
⚜️144 ⚜️@CantGuardMike's record-breaking catch #Saints pic.twitter.com/lZpKfNxmhr
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 22, 2019
Let’s put Michael Thomas’ 2019 season in perspective. Cooper Kupp had one of the best seasons we have ever seen from a wide receiver last year with 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdowns. Kupp played all 17 games last season and could not break Thomas’ reception record which he set in a season with 16 games.
The first four years of Michael Thomas’ career was the best four year run we have ever seen to start an NFL career for a wide receiver. Thomas is the only wide out to have over 450 receptions and more than 5,500 yards in his first four seasons. Thomas had more receptions and receiving yards than legends like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald. He also had more receptions and yards than some of the current cream of the crop at wide out, including DeAndre Hopkins, DeVante Adams, Mike Evans, Keenan Allen, and Tyreek Hill, among others.
Michael Thomas is in mid-season form
#Saints WR Michael Thomas is looking sharp. pic.twitter.com/JunVsFaLEd
— Jackson Grant ⚜️ (@Jaxadus) August 5, 2022
Michael Thomas was on the trajectory to be one of the best wide receivers of all time before the ankle issues derailed his last two seasons. A healthy Michael Thomas should step right back into the top five wide receiver conversation. Even with the change at quarterback, he should be very productive. Jameis Winston is not the legend that Drew Brees is, but he does have a much stronger arm than Brees had to end his career. We could see an even more dynamic version of Michael Thomas this season.
He will reintroduce himself to the football world to the tune of over 100 receptions for more than 1,200 yards with at least eight touchdowns.