While the Saints' relationship with Michael Thomas feels perpetually unpredictable, the star wide receiver seems to be living his best life.

Up until New Orleans recently picked up former Raiders Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr in free agency, it was assumed that Michael Thomas was on his way out of New Orleans after years of injuries and subsequent strained relationships over how they were handled within the Saints organization.

It's a lot to get into, but after record-setting seasons as the Saints star-wide receiver, Thomas began having a pretty tough time with injuries during the 2020 NFL season. He messed up his ankle pretty badly in Week 1 and had to sit out for a while. He came back in Week 9 but had a setback during practice and had to sit out for the rest of the season.

Fast forward to June 2021 (and lots of drama), Mike had to get surgery on his ankle, and it was a slow recovery. On top of all of the ankle mess, he also had to deal with a torn deltoid ligament, which is not a pretty injury in the slightest bit.

We really wouldn't see a healthy Thomas come back until the start of the 2022 season where he looked just as dominant as he did during the monster year he had in 2019. A few weeks into the season, Thomas suffered yet another injury which ultimately kept him out for the remainder of the year.

On top of everything, he has been costing the Saints a pretty penny for a player who never saw the field, and it was all but determined that he would likely be heading to another team next season, especially after the Saints announced a restructuring of his contract that seemingly set up the move to create necessary cap space.

Fast forward to the Saints continuing their off-season work and grabbing Derek Carr and almost instantly a tweet from Thomas changed everything we thought we knew about his future in New Orleans.

Thomas' reaction to the Saints picking up Carr at quarterback had reporters and fans scrambling to make sense of what was certainly a relationship that everyone figured was over in NOLA. Not long after the signing, it was even reported that Michael Thomas was one of the key players that convinced Derek Carr to come to New Orleans.

Soon, we got the news that Thomas and the Saints were actually working (and progressing) on a deal for him to stay in New Orleans.

Now, of course, this is the NFL and anything could happen, but recent photos of MT hanging with fellow WR and budding star Chris Olave only add fuel to the fire that CantGuardMike could be lining up for the Black & Gold next season.

Michael Thomas, Instagram
Michael Thomas, Instagram
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Thomas posted the images on his Instagram story and even included a shot of @cantguardmike riding a jetski.

Instagram, Michael Thomas
Instagram, Michael Thomas
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As if that wasn't enough, Derek Carr's introductory press conference only makes it seem more likely that we'll see #13 catching passes from the Pro Bowl quarterback in 2023.

Carr lit up when he described the call he had with Michael Thomas saying that he "didn't want to get off the phone," describing how competitive MT was and claiming that the wide receiver actually didn't recruit him to NOLA; instead, Thomas was more concerned with when they were getting to work.

This week should be full of significant developments when it comes to how the New Orleans Saints will shape up for next season and beyond. Don't be surprised if a star receiver who was figured to be sent packing turns out to stick around in the Big Easy.

Don't be surprised if that same star receiver ends up being a Comeback Player of the Year. Well, maybe that's a stretch, but did you ever think we'd even be at this point?

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