Alvin Kamara isn’t taking the injury to Michael Thomas lightly. In fact, he’s taken the opportunity to stick up to his friend and teammate. He did so by speaking to the media earlier this week regarding the subject. For those that might not know yet, Thomas has been ruled out for the remainder of this season with a foot injury despite playing just three games.
That brings his total up to 10 games played over the last three years. The guy has simply been very unlucky with injuries, a sad and devastating part of the game. People took to the internet to rip into him following the news. Some believe that he wants to leave New Orleans. Others think he doesn’t want to play football in general following his big contract extension. Those all just got put to bed.
Kamara had a few things to say about the news. He started by saying, “It just sucks to have a player of that caliber, an elite player that obviously works hard, and is passionate about the game, that just kinda got hit with some unlucky things.”
Kamara continued by saying, “Nobody’s in here like, let me get injured and not play and just get paid. We get paid to play obviously and we want to be available but when you can’t do it, there’s certain things you’ve got to be smart about. He’s not going to ruin the rest of his career for right now. You know Mike, out of anybody in this locker room, he’s one of them dudes who’s fighting to be on the field. He even wanted to play still knowing that he had to do that and fix his foot and be out for the season.”
It’s Been A Rough Stretch For Michael Thomas
Now, back in 2019, the first year after the extension, Thomas was the best wideout in the league. He had set numerous records with his season totals of 149 receptions and 1,700 yards, resulting in him winning the Offensive Player of the Year award. Since then, he’s missed 26 games. By the time we get to the end of 2022, that total will go up to 40. Thomas attempted to aggressively rehab his injury that he suffered before the 2021 campaign kicked off. That ankle injury didn’t get better, and it actually got worse. That rehab plan caused him to miss an entire season. This time around, he is choosing to take the smart approach and get surgery before risking further damage down the line.
There’s no question that Thomas will be hungrier than ever to get back out on the field for the Saints in 2023 and beyond. However, it’s yet to be known how the team wants to handle his status moving forward. Personally, I don’t believe that MT should be moved anywhere. Though I also can understand if they want to potentially trade him. Under no circumstances though, do I think that a release should be on the table. Even if it alleviates some cap problems, he’s an OPOY winner that has broken numerous records when healthy. You don’t just release talent like that.