When New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension Wednesday, he also extended his love affair with Saints fans and a Saints career that epitomizes the mantra that Coach Sean Payton and his staff have chosen the best players regardless of how they arrived in New Orleans.

Thomas was an undrafted rookie in 2007 who managed to nudge past several other running back candidates, including fourth-round pick Antonio Pittman from Ohio State, to make the 53-man roster. Since, he has become one of the most beloved Saints, endearing himself to fans for his magnetic personality and to teammates for his reliability and productivity.

“It means a whole lot to me,” Thomas said. “This is where I started in the NFL, with this team, (and) it just shows that they really appreciate what I do for them, the work I put in out there on that field, day in and day out.

“It’s really a blessing just to get another extension after the amount of years I’ve played in the league. Just to say I’m continuing with one team, it means a lot. I’ve been hearing it from a lot of guys who’ve been in the league before me, they said it’s rough to try to stay with one team. Just for me to be there, going into my eighth year, it’s amazing to have a two-year extension. It truly is a blessing.

“I talked to Coach Payton. Coach Payton just told me how much he likes my game, how he’s liked me ever since (I joined the team) and what I contribute to the team, and he really wanted me to stay but it was really out of his hands. But it was up to Mickey and my agent do their thing, talk to each other and come up with a good deal. And that’s what we did.”