Saints’ Michael Thomas rips Dolphins’ WR DeVante Parker on Instagram

New Orleans Saints star wide receiver is known as much for his brash talk off the field as he is for stellar play on it. The former was on full display via Instagram as a war of words ensued between Michael Thomas and Dolphins’ DeVante Parker.

Social media, in essence, is a gift and curse for professional athletes. For Michael Thomas and the Saints, it’s no different as we’ve seen previously this offseason.

On one hand, players get to connect with fans and have a platform to voice their opinions and feelings to the masses. On the other hand, the competitive nature of the game can carry off the field and start a verbal war over the internet.

What seems like a harmless question posed online fueled the war of words to come.

The question itself seems legitimate enough.

Asking the difficulty in catching a pass while being defended by the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Stephon Gilmore or trying to break up a pass while trying to defend reigning Offensive Player of the Year Michael Thomas would be a chore either way.

When fellow wide receiver Devante Parker chimed in, putting his opinion in favor of Gilmore, Thomas quickly put his 2 cents in and the verbal assaults took off from there. Parke,r for his part, is coming off his best season as a professional, as he had his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign.

Thomas did nothing but set the NFL single-season reception record with 149 catches while amassing over 1,700 yards.  It was his fourth straight 1,000-yard season. Thomas is universally regarded as a top 2 or 3 receiver in this league.

The Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints are not scheduled to play each other next season. While they wouldn’t match up on the field as they play the same position, I’m sure this would bring each a little extra juice to prove the other wrong.

The saying of two things being true holds weight here, you Can’t Guard Mike and you can’t disrespect him either.