Mike Thomas’ latest post on IG pic.twitter.com/hhAP3kF2yn
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) June 7, 2022
Don’t look now, but Michael Thomas is picking up speed. The New Orleans Saints wide receiver shared a video update to his recovery from a complicated ankle injury and subsequent surgeries. Having spent most of the offseason recovering from a surgical setback in Southern California, Thomas is now back in New Orleans — working with and receiving treatment from the Saints’ training staff.
In the video, originally posted on Thomas’ official Instagram account and shared by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year can be seen running at speed from the Saints’ indoor practice facility in Metairie. It’s a far cry from putting on pads and drawing double-digit targets in a playoff game, but this is real progress for a player who has experienced a lot of frustration over the last two years.
Getting Thomas back to his old self for 2022 would be monumental. He was the linchpin of New Orleans’ success in Drew Brees’ final years under center, and the Saints passing game fell apart without him last season. With Thomas sidelined by injury, the team’s lack of depth at wide receiver was exposed on a weekly basis, giving Jameis Winston little to work with.
But now Thomas is on the right path to remind everyone just how impactful he is. And he won’t be doing it alone after the Saints moved to draft Chris Olave and sign Jarvis Landry earlier this spring. Even if it takes some time for Thomas to fully return to form, having him on top of the depth is huge for everyone around him. If everything goes as hoped, maybe he ends up in the conversation for 2022’s Comeback Player of the Year.
