Eagles Should Add Former $96 Million NFL Offensive Player of the Year as WR3

Getty New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

The Philadelphia Eagles thought they’d secured a third wide receiver option when they traded with the Washington Commanders for former first round pick Jahan Dotson in August.

While the Eagles have had to find out the hard way what the Commanders may have already known — that Dotson doesn’t have what it takes to contribute on even the most basic level — that doesn’t mean they should give up on having a third wide receiver option behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Especially not when there’s an option just sitting out there like former NFL Offensive Player of the Year Michael Thomas, who last played in 2023 on a 1-year, $10 million contract with the New Orleans Saints and in 10 games had 39 receptions for 448 yards and 1 touchdown.

The time to strike on a deal for Thomas would be now — Brown and Smith are both dealing with nagging injuries. The Eagles are also one of the NFL’s hottest teams with a 4-game winning streak headed into a Week 10 game at the downtrodden Dallas Cowboys before a big-time showdown against the NFC East-leading Commanders in Philadelphia in Week 11.

Thomas Brings Some Baggage Along With Him

Thomas was in the news again recently when he took a flamethrower to his former quarterback on the Saints, Derek Carr, after Saints wide receiver Chris Olave suffered a concussion in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers on a pass that Carr arguably had no business throwing in the first place.

While Thomas wasn’t as delicate in his criticism, he does have a history of not always playing by the rules. That includes sitting out a game and being fined after punching a teammate during practice in 2020 and an arrest on misdemeanor charges of simple battery and criminal mischief after he allegedly threw a brick through the windshield of a construction worker’s truck in 2023.

Thomas Was On Pace to Be All-Time Great NFL WR

While it’s not reasonable to expect Thomas to get back to the player he was when he was NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 — right after he signed a 5-year, $96.25 million contract extension — he’s primed for a career revitalization.

Philadelphia could bring him in on an incentive laden contract to finish out the season — pay him $1 million guaranteed with the opportunity to double that by hitting certain benchmarks for the regular season and playoffs.

Remember that Thomas set NFL records for most receptions through the first five seasons (510) and most receiving yards through the first four seasons (5,512) and when he was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year it was the first wide receiver to win the award since Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in 1993.

The Eagles might feel like Dotson could still be the answer — and while giving up a third round pick and two seventh round picks for him might sting a little bit they shouldn’t let that mistake cloud their vision. Because Dotson is bad.

Headed into Week 9, Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder listed WR3 as the Eagles’ biggest weakness — nothing has changed since then.

In 8 games, Dotson has just 7 receptions for 71 yards and no touchdowns. That’s behind even his own lackluster pace from 2023, when he finished with 49 receptions for 518 yards and 4 touchdowns on a whopping 83 targets — effectively making him one of the least effective wide receivers in the NFL.