Michael Thomas reacts to Deshaun Watson’s monster contract extension

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is easy to root for, even in the eyes of his peers. So when he earned a $40 million per-year contract extension on Saturday, he also earned words of congratulations from other young stars around the NFL — like New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas praised Watson from his official Twitter account, also offering a shoutout to Watson’s agent, David Mulugheta of Athletes First. Mulugheta once represented Thomas himself, though the All-Pro wide receiver has since signed with a different member of the same agency: Andrew Kessler, who helped secure a $100 million extension for Thomast last summer.

It’s a big win for Watson, who returned from an early-career knee injury to lead the Texans in several postseason runs. He’s one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the game today, and memorable to Saints fans after taking them down to the wire in the 2019 season opener. For our part, we’re happy to see him stay in the AFC, where the Saints will only have to see him every four years.

That said: what could Watson’s contract extension mean for the Saints quarterbacks? Both Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston will be testing free agency in the next year or two, and this is the sort of tide that raises all ships. If either of them becomes the starter in New Orleans after Drew Brees, they should expect their salaries to take a big boost to keep up with the market. Now just how high they might claim remains to be seen.