The Dolphins need a No. 3 receiver. Their No. 1 receiver thinks he has just the guy.
Tyreek Hill, a k a Cheetah, believes the Dolphins should pursue Michael Thomas, the former New Orleans Saints receiver who in an equal gush of modesty chose @Cantguardmike as his social media handle.
Thomas is a two-time All-Pro, has won the Offensive Player of the Year Award and has a Cheetah-like 1,725-yard season on his résumé.
So it’s settled and we can move on to other matters, like the defensive line, right?
If only.
Hill thinks Miami’s offense would be on fire with Jaylen Waddle, Thomas and Hill. They’d even have a ready-made nickname, WTH? Hill might be right, which is why the Dolphins owe it to themselves to examine the possibility from every angle.
And with Thomas, there are many angles.
Early in his career, Michael Thomas was unstoppable
May as well start with his ability. Beyond that career-high 1,725-yard season in 2019, there’s the fact he began his career by averaging 1,378 yards and eight touchdowns per season over his first four years. Cantguardmike wasn’t just a Twitter handle; it was a cornerback’s lament.
If that’s the player on the market and the Dolphins could fit him under the cap, it’s a no-brainer, right?
But what about a receiver who averages 352 yards and one touchdown per season?
Because that not only also describes Michael Thomas, it’s the most recent version of Michael Thomas, over these past four seasons. And that 352 is just for recent seasons in which he has actually played. His bad luck with injuries cost him the entire 2021 season, when many began to forget just how good the young Michael Thomas really was.
Since the end of the 2019 season, Thomas has played a total of just 20 games. He appeared in 10 last season, catching 39 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown — better than Durham Smythe’s season, but not by much.
Thomas injured an ankle in the 2020 opener, missed six games (more on that in a second), played a handful of games but ended the season on injured reserve. Following the season, ankle surgery appeared imminent.
It didn’t happen. Not imminently, anyway. Thomas delayed surgery, later justifying it by saying one of his doctors said rehab would be sufficient. That, and what the Saints described as a lack of communication, put him at odds with the club. Coach Sean Payton called Thomas’ handling of the situation “disappointing,” adding that “quite honestly,” surgery should have taken place ASAP.
This may not be the most popular opinion, at least with the segment of fans that believes the price of a ticket buys them the right to dictate such matters, but the call on whether to cut or not to cut ultimately is in the hands of the player. It’s his body. Should they do what’s best for the team? They should and they do — what player doesn’t want to get back on the field? But they’re also the ones who have to forever live with the results. And the pain.
Outside of Thomas himself, who’s to say what was the correct course of action?
Standing up for his teammate, running back Alvin Kamara said in 2022, “Nobody knows what we go through in here. The masses just see Sunday. It’s a lot of (expletive) we’ve got to go through. So, a player like that, that’s fighting to get back — not only for his team, but for the fans and for this city — and for people to be talking (expletive), it irks my soul to see that.”
Thomas didn’t help himself with these incidents
Problem is, Thomas hasn’t exactly done himself many favors when it comes to earning the benefit of doubt. The injury alone doesn’t explain why he missed six games in 2020. He also got into a fight with teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson in practice, snapped at Payton and was suspended by the team.
He had a falling out with quarterback Derek Carr. In November, he was arrested after allegedly throwing two bricks at a contractor’s truck. More recently, he went on a social media rant against a New Orleans columnist over what amounts to semantics on the terms of his contract.
Carr, who at his introductory news conference had spoken about how much he looked forward to playing with Thomas, had a different tone on a “Two Gs in a Pod” podcast. Carr described his disappointment over the direction of their relationship.
“I hope Mike finds what he’s looking for,” Carr said. “I hope he gets everything he wants in life, because I do love Mike. But at that moment, I didn’t really like it. I was like, ‘Just call me, bro.’ To say all these things, I felt like we were doing some middle school things. Just talk to me.”
How much of this is Thomas being in the wrong place at the wrong time? How much of it is because of the choices he made? That would be for the Dolphins to decide, because the last thing they need is to disrupt the bond Tua Tagovailoa has with his targets. Heck, it’s the last thing the locker room needs.
Final points: Thomas just turned 31. The Saints waived him post-June 1 with an injury designation.
How much does he have left? Is he fit? And is he a fit? All good questions. The Dolphins just need all the right answers.