The New Orleans Saints' offense always seems to be in limbo due to Michael Thomas' ongoing injury troubles. He has played in just 10 games over the last three seasons and is now on the north side of 30. A true return to elite form may be out of reach. But there will be no doom and gloom routine after Thursday's joint training camp practice with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Thomas burned All-Pro safety Derwin James on one of his patented slant routes, via Pro Football Focus, reminding fans just how lethal he can still be when on the field.

The usually rock-solid James might as well have been on skates during that play. Saints head coach Dennis Allen and new quarterback Derek Carr will have so much more flexibility at their disposal if the star wide receiver can stay healthy for the whole season. Although that is asking a lot, Thomas is clearly trending up.

The Chargers should have one of the better defenses in the NFL going into the 2023-24 campaign, so it is greatly encouraging to see New Orleans rattle them a bit. Of course, they did recover and disrupted the Saints for much of 11-on-11 drills. James even intercepted Carr. The Saints are not going to fix all their issues in one afternoon, though, particularly against a more talented team.

But massive strides were still taken. Michael Thomas besting a top defesnive back is noteworthy enough to overshadow any of the day's misfires. While there is still a ways to go on this comeback trail, this good start cannot be taken for granted.