New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas is out for the season. The wideout announced Wednesday he would not return. Today we will discuss about Michael Thomas: Week 9| Out for season| Contract
Michael Thomas: Week 9| Out for season| Contract
Michael William Thomas Jr. (born March 3, 1993)[2] is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ohio State. Thomas holds the NFL record for most receptions by a player in his first five seasons with 510, along with the most receptions by a player in a season with 149. He led the league in receptions in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons, while also leading the league in the 2019 season.
| No. 13 – New Orleans Saints | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | March 3, 1993 Los Angeles, California |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | William Howard Taft (Woodland Hills, California) |
| College: | Ohio State |
| NFL Draft: | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 47 |
Week 9
Michael Thomas will not return from the PUP list after all.
The Saints’ top receiver has been eligible to play since Week 7 after missing the first six weeks of the season to recover from an ankle injury. The Saints were planning to activate him from the injury list after bringing him into practice. It looked like a return was possible in week 9 or 10.
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However, Thomas has suffered a setback in his recovery that will likely miss the rest of the season, as he announced on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
of the schedule, but aren’t they all?
When is Michael Thomas expected to return?
The good news is that it was about time he was ready to return, so he is close to playing. We should know more soon, but it won’t be a big surprise if he can play against the Seahawks in Week 7.
October 18 update: St. Thomas will not be returning to the 53-man roster immediately. Ian Rapoport is reporting Thomas is “still a couple of weeks away to be expected.” This would suggest week 9 at the earliest.
Out for season
Sources told ESPN that the blowout was a new issue that developed recently after Thomas’s recovery. Saints coach Sean Peyton said Wednesday that Thomas was “wasting his tail off” before recent scans showed Thomas may have to undergo another procedure.
“I think it’s nothing he can control,” Peyton said.
Thomas underwent surgery in June to repair multiple ligaments in his left ankle – an injury he initially suffered in Week 1 of the 2020 season and struggled throughout the year. He was initially expected to return in October.
Thomas tweeted, “I’ve always been a man of faith and my faith has really been tested over the past few months.”
Thomas continued: “Since [June ankle surgery], the team and I have worked hard, day and night, to rehabilitate and get me back on the field. Unfortunately there has been another small setback that we have to address. Outrage for me, I won’t be able to return in time for this season but will do everything in my power to get back the player I’ve always been.
“I know God doesn’t make mistakes so I will continue to follow his path, and can’t wait to be back on the field in front of the best fans on the planet.”
Contract
Michael Thomas has long been regarded as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, and his contract and salary cap numbers are representative of that. Let’s take a look at Thomas’s contract, the status of his salary range, and the potential contract implications if he were to be traded.
Michael Thomas’s Contract Details and Bonuses
In 2019, Michael Thomas signed a five-year contract extension worth $96.25 million. The deal has seen Thomas become one of the highest paid WRs in the league. As part of the contract, Thomas received a signing bonus of $20 million.
Upon signing, $35.6 million was in full, with a potential $60.6 million more in guarantees. Saints & Thomas has renegotiated the deal twice. In 2020, he converted a $10 million salary into a signing bonus. The restructuring in the cap space resulted in $8 million in savings.
Then, in 2021, he turned another $11.6 million into a signing bonus. The second restructuring saved $8.7 million in cap space.
Thomas still has four years left on his contract
When Thomas signed his extension ahead of the 2019 season, he had one more year left on his contract. Therefore, his contract was set to last until 2024, for a possible six years. Entering the 2021 season, Thomas has four years left on his contract.
What effect did Thomas’ deal have on the salary range of the Saints?
Thomas is set to calculate $10.1 million against the Saints’ salary range. He has a basic salary of just $1 million and a workout bonus of $200,000. The rest comes in the pro-rata bonus amount. $4 million from the original signing bonus which is proportionate over the first five years. Then there’s another $4.9 million in pro-rata funding from the two restructurings.
