Saints WR Michael Thomas wants to be traded, per NFL Network
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas wants to be traded, according to NFL Network. There has been growing tension between the two sides over the past two seasons which have come to a boiling point over the past week. Rapaport discussed Tuesday how difficult it would be to pull off a trade now.
“I would say a trade is certainly not off the table,” said Rapaport. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saints move on from Michael Thomas eventually, but it is complicated. Here’s why: He’s not healthy right now. He’s still recovering from that foot surgery.”
He continued: “You’re probably not going to be able to trade him until the trade deadline, and then it’s $8 million in dead money this year, $22 million in dead money next year, not impossible but not easy either.”
This comes days after a report from NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan claiming that Thomas had cut off all communication with the team for several months after the 2020 season. Since then, news on the fractured relationship between Thomas and the Saints has continued to break.
Earlier comments
Following the 2020 season, New Orleans officials advised Thomas to have ankle surgery as quickly as possible. Thomas believed that he could heal his ankle in time; so he did not opt for surgery.
After months of silence from Thomas, he finally underwent surgery to fix the ankle injury in June.
“It appears we’re going to have to spend some time without him,” Payton said. “We would have liked that to have happened earlier. Quite honestly, it should have.”
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Thomas fired back on social media with a jab most assume is directed toward the Saints.
“They tried to damage your reputation,” Thomas tweeted. “You saved theirs by not telling your side of the story.”
Later, the star wide receiver liked a pair of tweets criticizing the franchise and how it handled his injury. The continued frustration on both sides continues to mount as the season approaches.
These social media interactions sparked trade rumors from fans around the league, but Rapaport’s report on Thomas confirms the star wants out.
Michael Thomas trade value
Thomas has totaled at least 1,137 yards receiving in each of the four full seasons he has played in the NFL. In his career, he has 510 receptions for 5,950 yards and 32 touchdowns. He is a big part of the Saints offense, as he was targeted 185 times in 2019 and has 658 targets on his career.
The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro signed a five-year deal worth $96.25 million in 2019.
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