This week, Saints head coach Dennis Allen announced that receiver Michael Thomas is likely out for the year due to a toe injury that requires surgery.
Thomas had been out since Week Three after he missed much of the 2020 season and all of the 2021 season with an ankle injury.
The news prompted some to criticize Thomas for not being available due to injury. That’s something Saints running back Alvin Kamara took exception to, as he told reporters on Friday.
“For people to be talking shit, it irks my soul to see that,” Kamara said, via Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Advocate.
“Out of anyone in this locker room Mike is fighting to play,” Kamara added, via Erin Summers of the team’s website. “[H]e even wanted to play last week with the injury.”
Especially considering Thomas’ 2019 season — in which he caught 149 passes for 1,725 yards with nine touchdowns — the receiver’s injuries since have been unfortunate. Kamara is right to defend his teammate against the unfair injury criticism, though he should never feel compelled to do so in the first place.