Drew Brees isn’t going to let one of his favorite wide receivers be forgotten. Michael Thomas earned the single-season receptions record back in 2019 by catching 149 passes in 16 games, setting a high-water mark which still hasn’t been broken. Even after the NFL regular season expanded to 17 games.
The former New Orleans Saints quarterback shouted out his old wide receiver on Instagram, sharing a graphic from FOX Sports which highlighted the top-10 receptions leaders in NFL history. Former Los Angeles Rams playmaker Cooper Kupp came close to beating Thomas in 2021’s 17-game season with 145 receptions, but that’s only good enough for second place. Kupp’s successor as the tip of the spear for the Rams offense, Puka Nacua, currently leads the NFL with 52 catches through five games. He’s on pace for a record-shattering 176.8 receptions through 17 games, but we’ll have to wait and see if he gets there. An extra week helps, but he’s averaging an impressive 10.4 catches per game as it is.
Advertisement
It’s a shame things ended so poorly between Thomas and the Saints. After rushing back from a sprained ankle to help Brees close out his own career, a series of injuries and off-field incidents eroded the relationship, and the Saints ultimately released Thomas from his contract in a mutually-agreed separation. He hasn’t returned to the NFL in the years since. We’ll be left wondering what may have happened if he hadn’t been injured by friendly fire in a collision with a teammate back in 2020. But Brees is determined to not let that alone be his wideout’s legacy.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Drew Brees won’t let Michael Thomas’ record-breaking year be forgotten