Are New Orleans Saints really trying to trade Michael Thomas?
By Josh Hill
It sounds like the New Orleans Saints and Michael Thomas might be headed towards a split.
As ridiculous as it may sound, we could be entering the infancy of Michael Thomas trade rumors SZN. Even though the Saints star is widely regarded as the best receiver in the league, trouble is brewing on the bayou.
According to Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk, some league executives believe the Saints would be willing to listen to trade offers for Thomas. Let that sink in a moment.
Be careful how much you read into that, as it’s not a report that Thomas is being shopped or that the Saints are actively trying to move him. Rather, it’s the first rumblings that a split could happen in the future. No one is offering a trade for Thomas, the Saints haven’t placed him on the trade block, and for now there’s no reason for Saints fans to believe a deal will get done anytime in the bear future.
But it’s not a crazy idea to begin to ponder.
Why would New Orleans Saints trade Michael Thomas?
Antonio Brown recently signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after floating in the ether for two years after a split with the Steelers. At the time trade rumors began bubbling in Pittsburgh, the idea that the Steelers would move on from their All-Pro superstar seemed like it might be a tactic for leverage on one side or the other. But as we’ve seen over the last two years after the Steelers traded Brown away, there was a lot more going on that Pittsburgh wanted to get away from.
Thomas was recently punished by the Saints for punching a teammate in practice. It was a shock to everyone outside of New Orleans and was a clear signal that Thomas is not — don’t hate me — a saint. The punishment for Thomas was that he got benched for the Saints’ Monday Night Football showdown with the Chargers in which overtime was needed to decide a winner. Had Thomas been active, chances are the Saints offense would not have struggled out of the gate as much as it did.
New Orleans needed Thomas and sent a big time message by benching him, and it’s one that league executives are apparently listening to.
None of this means a trade is imminent, nor that one will ever happen. But it’s officially not a crazy thing to rule out, which in of itself is another crazy plot twist in 2020.