Thomas Morstead shares an emotional goodbye with New Orleans

Change isn’t easy. Thomas Morstead is going to do his best to embrace it after being released by the New Orleans Saints, hoping to continue playing once his body is right and some of the dust has settled in free agency. While he won’t be wearing black and gold anymore, he still sees New Orleans as his home.

“Overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks,” Morstead said when asked what he was feeling during a Zoom conference call on Thursday. “Obviously sad to be moving on from the team, but it’s not as if I haven’t prepared for this moment in a lot of ways.”

Morstead added that he’s not leaving the city — he and his family are building a new house in town, and the relationships he’s cultivated in New Orleans are important to him. He continued, choked up, adding that he doesn’t plan to retire, and that New Orleans is home and will remain his home, no matter where he finishes his NFL career. The love he’s shared with fans and felt from them is special.

Some fans have speculated that a reunion could be in the cards at the veteran’s minimum, but Morstead said the Saints didn’t approach him about a pay cut or restructure. That doesn’t seem to be an option, though he said he feels no resentment or negativity towards the Saints for how they handled business. He did offer an endorsement of his likely replacement, second-year punter Blake Gillikin, who he mentored throughout his rookie 2020 season.

Saints games won’t be the same without No. 6. Hopefully he can enjoy his summer; he’s starting it right, ending the conference call by excusing himself. He had a plane to catch, joining Saints kicker Wil Lutz for a bachelor party. Like he said: those relationships won’t fall apart just because he’s not a Saint anymore.