Saints’ Alvin Kamara Defends Michael Thomas After Injury Criticism
As New Orleans prepares for their Week 9 matchup with the Ravens on Monday night Football , New Orleans will not have a familiar face in wide receiver Michael Thomas.
Saints coach Dennis Allen announced Thursday that the three-time Pro Bowler would miss the remainder of the season due to a dislocated second toe and will be placed on the injured reserve as he undergoes surgery.
Thomas, who missed the entire 2021 season and appeared in only seven games in ’20, was once the cornerstone wide receiver of the franchise. After being drafted by New Orleans in ’16 out of Ohio State, he emerged as top target for then Saints quarterback Drew Brees as well as rose among the elite receivers in ’19 in terms of production when he was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. While some have taken to social media to criticize Thomas’ health and string injuries in the past two seasons, Saints runningback Alvin Kamara stood by his teammate Friday, saying that Thomas is one among many players who are always “fighting for the field.”
“It sucks to have a player of that caliber who works hard and passionate about the game and kind of got hit with some unluck things,” Kamara said. “I saw some comments in the media about Thomas, such as “you can’t trust him” or “he isn’t being honest about his injury. Why is he waiting to be ruled out?” . It’s a lot of s— that we got to go through.”
In three games this season, Thomas has recorded 16 catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Since Week 3, when the Saints lost to Carolina, Thomas has not played. Through his four seasons in the league, Thomas averaged 1,378 receiving yards per year. While Kamara is aware that Thomas will not be there this season, the five time Pro Bowler wants people recognize that Thomas is doing all he can to stay healthy and continue his career.
“People be talking s—-… it irks my soul to see that,” Kamara said. “He’s not going to ruin the rest of his career right now.”
Kamar said. He’s not going to ruin the rest of his career right now.”
More NFL Coverage:
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- No Matter What Happens With Twitter, These Athlete Tweets Will Live On Forever
- Saints News Network: Saints to Place Michael Thomas on Injured Reserve
For more New Orleans Saints coverage, go to Saints News Network.
The author of 5 books, 3 of which are New York Times bestsellers. I’ve been published in more than 100 newspapers and magazines and am a frequent commentator on NPR.
