Saints QB Derek Carr responds to insults from ex-teammate who claimed he is putting his receivers in danger
In the aftermath of a serious injury in the game between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers, an ex-Saints wide receiver slammed quarterback Derek Carr on social media.
Former Saints receiver Michael Thomas accused Carr of putting wide receiver Chris Olave in danger after the latter receiver exited the game early with a concussion.
Carr threw a so-called ‘hospital pass’ that led Olave directly into the path of Panthers safety Xavier Woods – who hit the receiver on his neck and shoulders – while he also took a hit from behind by cornerback Michael Jackson. Olave was carted off the field after laying motionless for some time.
Thomas put out an angry series of tweets in the immediate aftermath of the hit as Olave was led to the locker room.
‘Dude scary and panic and just throw the ball,’ Thomas said in the first of a series of tweets directed at Carr. ‘Get him the f out of here he so a**.’
Saints quarterback Derek Carr responded to criticism from a former wide receiver of his
The criticism came after Saints receiver Chris Olave sustained a concussion on a hit
Another tweet from Thomas said, ‘Dude tried to lie and say I was jealous of them making Chris WR1 whole time he can’t even get a decent ball. He needs his a** whooped.’
A third tweet read, ‘They fired all them coaches trying to cover his flaws up he still doing the same s**t.’
Thomas then posted a video, seemingly from Mexico, with the caption ‘Even [Mexican flag emoji] know what’s up’. In the video, a man in a car is heard asking another man his thoughts on Carr to which the man replied, ‘I don’t like him… he don’t know how to play.’
The final tweet in Thomas’s barrage referenced Davante Adams – who was one of Carr’s receivers when they both played on the Las Vegas Raiders: ‘That year his buddy [Adams] went 1st team all pro in 2022 he needed 180 targets just to catch 100 passes. He is a**.’
After the game – in which the Saints lost 23-22 to the struggling Panthers – Carr addressed Thomas’s attacks, saying that he was the one teammate he never got along with.
‘I’ve had so many teammates over the years and he’s like the one dude that didn’t get along with me,’ Carr said. ‘And I don’t know what I did to him.
‘I don’t know why he feels that way. I’m sorry for whatever he’s dealing with to make him feel like he’s got to do that. I don’t know. But he’s never called me during any of this.
‘My phone number has never changed. I’ve in fact called him on different occasions. Just to try. And sometimes you can try as hard as you want and it just doesn’t work out. And that’s OK, so I don’t know why he feels any type of way.
Carr was brutally criticized on social media by former Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas
Olave was carted off the field in Carolina but later tweeted ‘Ima be aight’ after the concussion
‘I didn’t see it. I won’t see it. Because I always ignore everything, good and bad. I try to ignore everything. It’s unfortunate. Especially coming from a player like that. But I wish him the best. I hope he gets on a team and does what he wants to do and loves it.’
Carr added: ‘It’s just something I would never do to a teammate. Because it was single high, the ball went to where we talked about it going and Chris got hit in the head unfortunately.
‘That happens in our game, and I would never do it on purpose. I didn’t throw him into a bad look. … When it comes to the football aspect of it, I really don’t have an answer for it. But when it comes to the person part of it, I just hope he gets what he’s looking for.’
Carr also told reporters that he feels ‘sick to my stomach’ whenever one of his receivers gets injured.
‘[If] what he’s looking for is to put blame on me that I got Chris Olave hurt, he can put blame on me,” Carr said. “It’s not going to change my day.
‘I have a pit in my stomach any time one of my teammates goes down because I love them that much. No matter if I like them or not. And I happen to love Chris Olave. We have a great relationship, so any time that happens I feel sick to my stomach and I hate — hate, and I don’t use that word a lot — but I hate moments like that.
“So, to be clear about that part, I hate it, it happening. It makes me sick anytime that happens, whether they don’t get up or they do get up. I don’t like that. You try your best to never put someone in that situation.
‘And over the course of my career, it hasn’t happened that many times. … I’m sorry that I had to even to answer these questions. I wish we could have made it better. I wish it would have never happened. I wish I could have made Mike happier. But it’s hard to do.’
Thomas and Carr only played a single season together, which was shortened due to injury
Carr and the Saints are on a seven game skid after winning their first two games of the season
Chris Olave’s brother Josh Olave quote tweeted one of Thomas’ tweets with two ‘100’ emojis. He also responded to a tweet asking if Josh and Chris should have an ‘is it worth it’ talk – to which Josh replied, ‘Ain’t worth it in Nola, I’ll tell you that.’
After the incident, Chris Olave took to X, formerly Twitter, and posted, ‘Thank God Preciate all the love & prayers Ima be aight.’
This is the fourth concussion of Olave’s professional career. His first came in Week 5 of his rookie season while catching a pass from then-quarterback Andy Dalton against the Seattle Seahawks.
Last season, Olave was concussed again on a pass attempt from Carr in Week 12 against the rival Atlanta Falcons.
This year, prior to Sunday’s game, Olave had already dealt with one concussion after catching a pass from backup quarterback Spencer Rattler against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.
As for Thomas, he hasn’t been picked up by an NFL team since being released from the Saints after the 2023 season after eight seasons in New Orleans. He was only teammates with Carr for one of those.
Thomas sustained a season-ending injury in November of 2023 after catching a pass from Carr. In January, he would go on t say that he was ‘set up by a bad ball’.
After winning their first two games of the season, the Saints have gone on to lose seven straight – including three contests to division rivals. They’ll look to finally snap that skid at home when they host a fellow NFC South foe, the Atlanta Falcons.
