Healthy Michael Thomas getting back to “chasing perfection”

METAIRIE – Michael Thomas isn’t 100 percent healthy.

But he has been a full participant during the first week of New Orleans Saints training camp.

No one knows if he’ll be able to regain the form that earned him the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award for the 2019 season.

And no one knows if the toll of three mostly inactive seasons because of multiple foot surgeries will significantly reduce his effectiveness – or if continued misfortune with injuries will again limit his availability in 2023.

But we do know that where Thomas’ 2023 performance falls within the cavernous space between the ceiling and floor of his recent seasons will be one of the most important factors in this team’s success.

If he comes close to matching the productivity in his most recent full season, when he caught an NFL-record 149 passes for a franchise-record 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns, the Saints offense figures to be far more productive than the one that ranked No. 19 in the NFL last season.

But if his productivity is limited to something in the neighborhood of the last three seasons – 10 games, 56 catches, 609 yards and three touchdowns – then the Saints are likely to remain a middle-of-the pack offense as they try to end a two-season playoff drought.

Thomas pondered the potential of the offense as he spoke to reporters for the first time in training camp after practice Tuesday.

“We can be tremendous,” he said, adding that “it’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be explosive.

“We’ve already been seeing a lot of flashes of it, like just in practice. We have a tremendous group. We have a lot of explosive players all across the offense.”

But it’s the steady presence of Thomas, vintage 2019, that would provide the crucial element of moving the chains consistently in between the periodic explosive plays.

Thomas’ reputation on the team is that no one works harder than he does, which made his absence from the football field (in 2020 and 2021 due to ankle surgeries and due to toe surgery last season) acutely frustrating for him.

He’s 30 years old and said he uses the doubt that others have about his ability to perform at the level he did when he was last healthy “as fuel for me,” that “the chip” he has on his shoulder “is very big.”

“It grows every day,” he added.

After spending most of the last three years either unable to work out while recovering or focused on rehabbing injuries, Thomas is now able to focus on honing his football skills.

“I know it was a process to get here, and I didn’t cheat that process,” he said. “So eventually if you don’t cheat that process and you stick to the grind, you’ll reap the rewards and the benefits.

“It’s a blessing for sure just to be out there, not on the side watching. Just being able to put stuff on film and go back and critique it, and honing your craft. That’s all the receiver position is, it’s just a craft. That’s what I really miss, just coming out here to be able to perfect my craft.”

Thomas wouldn’t say he’s “100 percent,” but he did say he’s “trending in the right direction.”

It’s obvious that he’s in excellent condition and able to do everything he’s asked to do in drills.

Barring a set-back, he will be 100 percent long before the season opener September 10. Head coach Dennis Allen limited Thomas’ reps in practice Saturday and will continue to do so periodically to be prudent about the wide receiver’s workload.

“I go hard,” Thomas said. “So sometimes you might get injured going hard. I don’t loaf. And sometimes when you go hard, you’ve gotta learn how to channel it a little bit.”

Still, Thomas said he’s “trying to win every rep” because he’s “addicted to chasing perfection.”

“You always evolve in this game, so I never want to feel like I’m there,” Thomas said. “I’m always looking for more work to get faster, to get open more, to catch more passes. You don’t always have to do stuff when cameras are out here and people are watching. You can still go find ways to get better and work on yourself when no one’s watching.

“I’m always trying to find ways to get better whether it’s taking care of my body off the field, or if it’s catching jugs after practice. There’s a lot of nuances that go into it to create the player that I want to be.”