Advocate staff report Feb 22, 2019 - 2:12 pm



After the NFC title game, a more literal Saints theft occurred.



A game-worn Michael Thomas jersey, along with a game-worn and signed jersey and gloves from Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz were stolen from a bag on Jan. 20 about 6 p.m.



The time and date indicates the theft occurred shortly after the New Orleans Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship. The Saints defeated the Eagles a week earlier in the divisional round.



The theft was reported in the 1500 block of Sugar Bowl Drive, the address of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It was not immediately clear when the report was made, but a complaint reporting lost property from that address was filed Wednesday, city records show.



New Orleans police shared a photo of the stolen gear but did not specify who was in possession of the bag the jerseys were taken from. A Saints spokesman said he would look into the matter when asked if the jerseys had been stolen from a player.



NFL players will often sign and trade game-worn equipment after games. An image from earlier in the season shows Thomas swapping jerseys with star Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.





New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) swap jerseys after the game on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

Advocate Photo by STEPHEN LEW



Ertz has said in a report from Philly.com that he has a lot of jerseys he's traded for.



“When I’m done playing, [I’m going to] have a little man-cave with [framed jerseys from] all the guys I played against, all the guys I really respected,” Ertz said.



The Saints lost to the Rams after the officiating crew refused to call an obvious pass interference that would've let New Orleans take a lead while leaving almost no time on the clock for Los Angeles to respond. Los Angeles squandered its Super Bowl berth, losing to New England after managing to score a measly three points.



This report was compiled by Jeffrey Nowak and Ramon Antonio Vargas.