Michael Thomas to Tyrann Mathieu: “Come to the BLOCK”

Shooters shoot. That’s one of life’s great truths: in basketball, in football, in Tinder messages, wherever you are, someone is going to shoot their shot.

Today that someone was New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Thomas. When Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim was asked about fan-favorite defensive back Tyrann Mathieu’s future, he was noncommittal at best, saying:

“It’s what we’re doing right now with our coaching staff is looking not only at Tyrann but every player, and see how they fit. So how do they fit (with) what we’re asking them to do schematically, but where they fit from a salary standpoint — all those things moving forward.

“And there’s a lot of moving parts: What we’re potentially going to do in free agency, how that affects our cap situation. And I feel like we have a pretty good grasp on that.”

Those vague comments did not go unnoticed. Mathieu responded to them with his own, observing coyly that “It’s just a business”. From the outside looking in, the Cardinals could be prepared to let Mathieu walk away in order to load up on salary cap space in pursuit of a new quarterback.

It didn’t take long for Michael Thomas to hit the recruiting trail. He publicly addressed Mathieu, tweeting:

Come to the BLOCK. Where all we trying to do is win every game and not get caught up in weirdo stuff.

Thomas later elaborated on what the “weird stuff” he’s alluding to is, likening it to the white noise that can fill a locker room when teams are in the middle of a losing streak. The Cardinals have seen their fair share of it in recent years, so maybe some stability could appeal to Mathieu.

The Saints are expected to move on from slot cornerback Kenny Vaccaro per Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune. Mathieu is a versatile asset in the secondary much like Vaccaro and has spent the bulk of his time covering the slot, so he would easily fit into Dennis Allen’s defense.

The former LSU Tigers star hasn’t returned to his 2015 heights when he bagged five interceptions and seventeen other pass breakups on the way to All-Pro honors, but at 26-years old Mathieu still has many years of football ahead of him.

What do you think? Should the Saints make a move for the Honey Badger?