Could Phantom Saints WR Michael Thomas Really Be Back, Finally? Or Was He Invaded By The Body Snatchers?

Somebody must have gotten to New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

It looked like him Tuesday during a Saints practice at the facility in Metairie. But it sure did not sound like him.

"Oh, it's a blessing," he said. "Any time I get to put on a Saints uniform and contribute, put on the 13 in the Black & Gold, just to come out here and be around the guys - the camaraderie."

Thomas, a seven-year pro from Ohio State who holds a slew of NFL records, tends to deliver two-or-three word answers tersely. And just last January, the Saints appeared ready to release him for a cap space bargain after restructuring his contract. Thomas has criticized the Saints' medical staff, and probably rightfully so, for some of his injury issues over the years. But he may need to take blame, too.

Soon, though, Michael Thomas became a company man with the addition of free agent quarterback Derek Carr from Las Vegas in March. Carr recruited Thomas, and Thomas recruited Carr. Thomas sent Twitter love at that acquisition on his fittingly-titled @Cantguardmike account.

Then in May, the new Thomas agreed to a refurbished, one-year contract worth between $10 and $15 million that is rich in incentives and locks him into 2023.

Saints Need Michael Thomas Back Badly

And on Tuesday, Thomas looked like he just exited a deep cleansing public relations shower.

"We're going to be ready for training camp first day one," he said. "Out there with the team ready to go full speed. Just like the old days and what everyone's used to."

Thomas set an NFL record in 2019 with 149 receptions that still stands. His 1,725 receiving yards that season led the NFL, and he was the league's Offensive Player of the Year. He made first team All-Pro in 2018 and '19 and the Pro Bowl in 2017-19. He holds NFL records for most catches in his first two seasons at 196 and first three-through-five seasons at 321, 470 and 510. Virtually all those numbers happened with one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history - Drew Brees.

Everything changed in 2020 when Thomas suffered a high ankle sprain and played in just seven games. Either Thomas or the Saints dropped the ball that off-season as Thomas did not have ankle surgery until long after the season. He missed all of 2021. So did Brees, who retired after the 2020 season. The Saints fell to 9-8 in '21 and did not reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Their string of four-straight NFC South titles ended.

Then Payton semi-retired after the 2021 season, and just got the Denver Broncos job early this year.

Michael Thomas Has Not Been The Same Since 2019

Thomas tried to come back in 2022, but he injured his foot and played in only three games. And the Saints fell to 7-10 under first-year coach Dennis Allen. He is now coming off recent foot surgery.

Maybe Thomas was just waiting for the Saints to finally get a quarterback. There was disaster post-Brees, and Carr at least looks like Brees. He doesn't have the numbers, but he is above average, which is more than anyone can say about would-be Brees replacements Taysom Hill, Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian and Andy Dalton the last two years.

"Oh, he's been amazing. Amazing," Thomas said of Carr. "I can't wait to play with him. He's a pro. His demeanor. Just watching him from when he gets in the building, kind of like how Drew was."

Now, if Michael can get back to how Michael was. He still has many yards to go. Thomas did not take part in the full team drills Tuesday after missing the first two weeks of OTAs (organized team activities, aka practice). He only ran around and caught some passes from Carr and Winston.

We've been here before.

"I always knew I was going to be playing here," Michael Thomas said. "I knew our priorities for the off-season was to get a quarterback."

Wow, sounds like they didn't have one before, which is accurate.

"And put some pieces around us," Thomas said. "I was always involved. I feel like the organization knows my value. We have a very good relationship, no matter how the narrative may be."

Now it's up to Thomas with a solid quarterback to return to what he was from 2016 through 2019 when he played 63 of a possible 64 regular season games. Or will he continue to be the Saints' version of the Pelicans' Zion Williamson?

"I know the type player I'm capable of being," Thomas said. "I'm staying ready. So I don't have to get ready."

Payton and Brees are long gone, and without them, the Saints are a shell of what they were with them. Thomas is one of the last remnants of the Payton-Brees Saints. If he can truly return, along with running back Alvin Kamara after his incoming suspension for a battery arrest more than a year ago, Allen and the Saints may have a chance.

But they really need the real Michael Thomas.