Houston cut Demaryius Thomas last week, bringing an end to his brief tenure with the team. Thomas tore his Achilles late last season, a tough injury for a 31-year-old wideout to come back from. His numbers had been gradually declining in recent years anyway, and he was in a car accident yesterday, with details still uncertain.
In 2017, Thomas finished under 90 receptions and under 1,000 yards for his first year since becoming a full-time starter, back in 2012. He also finished under 11.5 yards per catch, which he followed up with another sub-11.5 year in 2018. It was the first time he'd been under 12 yards per catch in his nine-year career.
That 11.5 figure was also near the bottom of the 46 wideouts who caught at least 50 passes last year. Most of the dozen guys under him are doing most or all their work at the line of scrimmage: Baltimore wideouts, Golden Tate, Danny Amendola, Cole Beasley, etc.
| WIDE RECEIVERS YARDS PER CATCH, 2018 (50-PLUS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 86 | 1524 | 17.7 | 8 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 87 | 1479 | 17.0 | 12 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 57 | 965 | 16.9 | 10 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 76 | 1270 | 16.7 | 6 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 70 | 1063 | 15.2 | 5 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 80 | 1204 | 15.1 | 5 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 50 | 752 | 15.0 | 6 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 113 | 1677 | 14.8 | 8 |
| D.J. Moore, Car. | 55 | 788 | 14.3 | 2 |
| Chris Godwin, T.B. | 59 | 842 | 14.3 | 7 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 86 | 1219 | 14.2 | 6 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 115 | 1572 | 13.7 | 11 |
| Odell Beckham, NYG | 77 | 1052 | 13.7 | 6 |
| Allen Robinson, Chi. | 55 | 754 | 13.7 | 4 |
| Corey Davis, Tenn. | 65 | 891 | 13.7 | 4 |
| Tyler Boyd, Cin. | 76 | 1028 | 13.5 | 7 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak.-Dall. | 75 | 1005 | 13.4 | 7 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 66 | 872 | 13.2 | 4 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phi. | 65 | 843 | 13.0 | 6 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 64 | 821 | 12.8 | 10 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 111 | 1426 | 12.8 | 7 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 66 | 838 | 12.7 | 4 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 111 | 1386 | 12.5 | 13 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 104 | 1297 | 12.5 | 15 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 50 | 618 | 12.4 | 5 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 97 | 1196 | 12.3 | 6 |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 113 | 1373 | 12.2 | 9 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 71 | 868 | 12.2 | 4 |
| Jarvis Landry, Clev. | 81 | 976 | 12.0 | 4 |
| Jordy Nelson, Oak. | 63 | 739 | 11.7 | 3 |
| Zay Jones, Buff. | 56 | 652 | 11.6 | 7 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 74 | 850 | 11.5 | 6 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 64 | 736 | 11.5 | 4 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den.-Hou. | 59 | 677 | 11.5 | 5 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 125 | 1405 | 11.2 | 9 |
| Michael Crabtree, Balt. | 54 | 607 | 11.2 | 3 |
| Dede Westbrook, Jac. | 66 | 717 | 10.9 | 5 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 76 | 816 | 10.7 | 5 |
| Golden Tate, Det.-Phi. | 74 | 795 | 10.7 | 4 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 69 | 734 | 10.6 | 6 |
| Willie Snead, Balt. | 62 | 651 | 10.5 | 1 |
| Cole Beasley, Dall. | 65 | 672 | 10.3 | 3 |
| Taylor Gabriel, Chi. | 67 | 688 | 10.3 | 2 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 102 | 1021 | 10.0 | 9 |
| Danny Amendola, Mia. | 59 | 575 | 9.7 | 1 |
| Chester Rogers, Ind. | 53 | 485 | 9.2 | 2 |
That in itself doesn't mean Thomas is done. But it's a step down from what he'd done for most of his career (in his prime of 2012-2014, he was up around and over 15 yards per catch). And coming back from a significant injury, he's likely to spend a while on the market before getting an offer.
--Andy Richardson