Saints Receiver Michael Thomas M.I.A. From Summer Training Camp As Contract Talks Continue

As the New Orleans Saints and star wide receiver Michael Thomas continue ongoing negotiations towards a contract extension, Thomas has yet to report to training camp, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Saints training camp opened up on Thursday with the first practice scheduled for Friday. Thomas is set to be fined $40,000 per day by the Saints for every day of training camp that he misses. Thomas is due to make $1.148 million this season in the final year of his rookie contract.

Thomas, 26, is entering his fourth season in the NFL after the Saints drafted him as the 47th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. In his first three seasons in the NFL, Thomas has established himself as one of the elite receivers around football. Thomas has qualified for back-to-back Pro Bowls, led the NFL in receptions last season with 125, was a First-team All-Pro member last season and has nearly 4,000 career receiving yards.

Thomas’ decision to skip training camp is a bit peculiar, considering that he participated in OTAs earlier this offseason. Earlier in the offseason, Thomas told ESPN, “I’m a football player first; I like being at work.”

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It was reported by ESPN’s Dianna Russini last month that the Saints are comfortable making Thomas the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. Currently, the NFL’s highest-paid receiver is new Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whose current contract pays him over $18 million a season with $65 million in guaranteed money.

As NFL Network’s James Palmer noted, Thomas is fifth among wideouts in the league in terms of most receiving yards per game with 80.6. Beckham is second with 92.8 yards per game and Atlanta’s Julio Jones tops the list with 96.7 yards per game.

The highest-paid receiver in Saints history up to this point is a former tight end, Jimmy Graham, who earned more than $10 million per season before the Saints traded Graham to the Seattle Seahawks in 2015.