Is Michael Thomas leaving the Miami Dolphins?

The Miami Dolphins have not started their off-season work just yet. That won’t start until after Sunday’s finale against the Bills. One member of the team, Michael Thomas, may not be back.

On Friday the Dolphins put Michael Thomas on injured reserve and claimed safety Trae Elston who was waived by the Bills. On the surface this is nothing new in the NFL and doesn’t mean anything for a players future. Until it does.

Thomas has missed the last two weeks with an injury so him being shutdown the final weekend is not a big deal. Thomas however has fans wondering if he is going to be back for 2018. A Tweet he made earlier has fans scratching their heads.

Perhaps the best part of the Tweet was his backhanded reference to former Dolphins right tackle Jonathan Martin when he mentioned “another kid from Stanford” but the rest of the message is clearly hard to breakdown.

Thomas falls short of saying that this was his final year in Miami and he stays clear of mentioning any references to his future. He has not responded to the 100 plus responses asking if he is staying or going.

One of the best special teams players Miami has on their roster, Thomas has grown through his years in South Florida. His arrival from San Francisco after being signed off their practice squad payed off immediately as he intercepted Tom Brady in the end zone to secure a Dolphins win at home in 2013.

Many believe that Thomas should have been a special teams addition to the annual NFL Pro-Bowl but making the game as an ST player is hard and more of a popularity contest than anything else. Thomas has been fantastic at special teams since his arrival.

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Now the question is will he be back? Thomas’ cryptic message thanks the Dolphins for taking a chance on him, his fellow teammates for voting him captain, and the fans for their support since he arrived.

A follow-up Tweet by Thomas simply said “Forever” with a picture of his interception of Tom Brady. Another cryptic sign of his future?

Perhaps Thomas is deciding on whether he wants to return to football. His work in the community has been fantastic as he continues to work within the community to build better relations between the community and police officers. A strong advocate for equality, Thomas has also been a part of the Stephen Ross RISE initiative.

Thomas is a soft-spoken man who I once had the pleasure of talking to at the team’s training facility as part of a web event. Gracious with his time and always with a smile. Here is a video of part of that time with Michael that I took in Miami.

Whatever Thomas’ future holds we won’t likely know any time soon unless he breaks his silence and explains his tweet. Perhaps he is just thanking everyone as he goes on IR. Maybe it’s more than that. Either way, we appreciate everything you do on and off the field.