New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas made his return to the NFL on Sunday after a near two-year long absence due to a string of injuries. It's safe to say the return was successful.
Thomas reeled in five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns in his return to action, supplying the Saints with some desperately needed big plays in their 27-26 win over the Atlanta Falcons. That's a solid day for someone who's last game came on Jan. 17, 2021, almost 20 months ago. Despite that, Thomas still sees room for improvement.
"I still have a lot more," he told reporters, as transcribed by ESPN. "When I come into games and the ball's thrown to me, I'm trying to make every play, make every catch. That's definitely not my standard. Little rusty to me. But the biggest thing is being able to add value, put points on the board and help my team win games and come back. But from an individual standpoint, I still have more work to do."
It did take Thomas a while to get going, with four of his five catches coming in the fourth quarter, but in the big moments he stepped up for a Saints team that ended up relying on those catches heavily.
Given it was his first game back, Saints fans could reasonably expect Thomas will continue to shake off that "rust" and improve as New Orleans moves forward this season. If he does, the boys down on Bourbon St. could become very scary to the rest of the NFL.
