NFC Notes: Michael Thomas, Tristan Wirfs, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers LT Tristan Wirfs met with the team’s sports psychologist Dr. Joe Carella to discuss his concerns about moving from the right side to left tackle, feeling that he may be setting himself up for failure in his professional career.

“Just being able to say them helps tremendously, just getting them out of your own head,” Wirfs said, via Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times. “I am still trying to get better at saying what I am thinking and feeling. I feel like in this sport, you have to be tough and all that stuff, so just being able to get things off your chest and let somebody in that is there to help. They know what they are doing.”

Panthers

Panthers CB C.J. Henderson knows he has a big year ahead of himself after Carolina opted to decline his fifth-year option, which was part of his rookie deal when he was a first-round selection by the Jaguars.

“Just prove to myself I can stay consistent and work at the things I need to work on,” Henderson said on what he needs to do this year, via USA Today. “It’s a contract year, it’s big for me. They declined the fifth, but it’s not the end of the world. Keep working and moving forward.”

Saints

Saints WR Michael Thomas says he’s moving towards being 100 percent healthy after dealing with injuries the past few years. 

“Once I passed my physical and they gave me the green light and they checked all the details they needed to check, I trusted it,” Thomas said, via ESPN.com. “Like I said, I have real strong faith in God, and I know it was a process to get here. And I didn’t cheat that process. So, eventually, if you don’t cheat that process and you stick to the grind, you’ll reap the rewards and the benefits. So, it allowed me to come back out here. And, like I said, I’m just fine-tuning everything. Missed a decent amount of time. So, for me to say, like, ‘Yeah, I’m 100 [out here]’ No. But I’m moving in that direction every day.”

Thomas was one of the best receivers in the game at one point and he says he uses the doubt from people to fuel him returning to his prior form. 

“I kinda just fuel off the doubt,” Thomas said. “People might call it crazy or people might call it, like, I don’t know,” Thomas said. “But some people say if you don’t have any haters, you ain’t popping. I mean, I really, like, use it as fuel for me. I mean if you doubt me, first off, you’re probably not in my shoes. And now I’m just gonna go harder and then I’m gonna prove you wrong. … It’s just like a whole mental thing. If you’ve got a strong mind, anybody could doubt you, it don’t matter. I’ve been blessed to be in this position. And all I know is it’s about my craft and perfecting it.

“I just want to come out here and play football, go hard Point A to Point B, catch a lot of passes, move the chains, do the things we’re used to doing and people are used to seeing us do. And just help this organization win. And that’s what this game is about, it’s about winning. It ain’t about he say, she say, the doubt … The only thing that matters is winning these games and scoring these points and moving the chains and staying healthy, being there when guys need you and hanging banners and stuff like that and playing for the Super Bowl.“