Michael Thomas addresses suspension, trade rumors after first game back for Saints

Thomas says he's grown from this incident as he's set to help the Saints win a title

Michael Thomas finally returned to the New Orleans Saints lineup after weeks of battling through ankle and hamstring injuries -- and another incident that kept him off the field. Thomas was suspended for the Saints' Week 5 game because he punched teammate Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in practice, fueling speculation the franchise would try to trade him before the trade deadline last week. 

New Orleans kept Thomas on the roster, and he made his return to the lineup after a six-game absence. While Thomas' impact in the box score wasn't impressive for a player of his caliber -- five catches for 51 yards -- the Saints did put up a season-high 38 points in a blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Thomas has already had a whirlwind season, set to put everything behind him as the Saints control their destiny in the NFC South. 

"My emotions got the best of me in that situation," Thomas said. "I've grown from that, and I'm here to help my team win games and to finish the mission: To win a championship. I'm just here to contribute."

Thomas was certainly in a pleasant mood after the Saints' blowout victory, just happy to be out on the field and help the Saints win games. He also shot down the trade rumors surrounding him, confirming New Orleans is where he wants to be. 

"I can't pay attention to any of that," Thomas said. "I'm just trying to put my head down, get back out there and help my team."

Not only did the Saints put up 420 yards in Thomas' return, but they also went 9 of 14 on third down and held the ball for 40:04, their most time of possession in a game since Week 10 of the 2017 season. New Orleans had 12 players catch a pass in the victory, a signal of the impact Thomas makes in the offense. 

"It was good to have him back," Saints coach Sean Payton said after the win. "One of the things that I would always say, and one of the challenges, especially for a player like Mike, he's had such great health and stamina. And he's a guy that has played 50, 60 snaps a game. And this is really the first time coming back off an injury ever for him in the NFL. 

"And we wanted to be smart, relative to the pitch count. But he handled it well. I was really proud of him. It's good to have him back out there. It was really good to see him (Michael Thomas) get in the flow of a game, because I think sometimes the mistake could be how much we use him in that first week back. And again, we'll look closely at the tape. And we'll kind of go from there."