Derek Carr was one of the first people Michael Thomas greeted when he walked onto the practice field at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on Tuesday, and he made it clear after practice how excited he is to be working with his new quarterback.
“Oh he’s been amazing,” Thomas said, reiterating, “Amazing. I can’t wait to get out there with him and create something special, a connection. Just the way he commands the huddle, the sense of urgency, he’s a pro. It’s great for these young guys to see.”
In a lot of ways, Thomas says Carr reminds him of his old quarterback Drew Brees. Between his command of the huddle and his presence at the facility, Thomas feels that he and his teammates can learn a lot from their new passer: “His demeanor (stands out). Just everything, just watching him from when he gets in the building, kind of like Drew was, when he was watching film you could learn from him, in the locker room you could learn from him. Anywhere in the building you could learn something different from them that makes them how they are, and I respect (Carr) a lot. I love talking football with him. He loves football.”
Thomas added that he’s expecting to begin training camp at full speed after finishing his recovery from last year’s toe surgery, which currently has the team limiting him to individual work at OTAs. He’ll ramp up his activity level over the summer and do everything he can to be an asset for this team moving forward. Having a quarterback he believes in as strongly as Carr is powerful motivational.
