Last year, as word emerged of friction between the Saints and receiver Michael Thomas, PFT reported that the Thomas camp was trying to get other teams to make a trade offer for the player. No one did.
This year, it feels inevitable that someone will.
The relationship between Thomas and the Saints seems fractured, as evidenced by Thomas posting a tweet implying that the team tried to damage his reputation. The Saints, of course, have no reason to make Thomas look bad. The Saints didn’t want the ugliness to go public, as evidenced by the fact that they managed to keep under wraps for months the consternation arising from Thomas delaying his ankle surgery. No, the Saints lose if Thomas takes a hit to his reputation; that will make other teams less inclined to give the Saints full value for his services.
So where will Thomas go? A reunion with Ohio State coach Urban Meyer makes plenty of sense. Given that (per Jeff Duncan of Nola.com) the Saints are exploring trade options at cornerback and could make a play for C.J. Henderson of the Jaguars, the possibility of Thomas for Henderson plus a pick or two could make sense.
He’d leave behind $8.9 million in cap space for 2021, and the team would take a $22.7 million cap charge in 2022. It’s hardly an ideal outcome, but with the situation deteriorating between player and team, the Saints may have no choice but to move on.