Should the New Orleans Saints Part Ways with Michael Thomas in 2022 Offseason?

The New Orleans Saints have looked like contenders this season with a strong defense and running game behind a great offensive line. It also seemed their championship credentials would eventually be boosted by the return of star receiver Michael Thomas. 

But now Thomas isn't coming back at all, and the Saints' success without him opens the door for the team to move on from him this offseason as they shift in a new direction in the post-Drew Brees era.

The palpable tension between superstar player and team has been there for years. Thomas was suspended one game by the Saints in 2020 for punching a teammate in practice and reported altercations with coaches.

Reports then surfaced this offseason that the Saints were open to moving Thomas after miscommunications on the handling of his ankle injury caused him to miss the start of this season. That injury and a different ankle issue he suffered during rehab will now cost Thomas the season.

The Saints have been fine without the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year dating back further than this season. Thomas only made it into seven games in 2020, totaling 438 yards and no touchdowns. That didn't stop Brees from leading the Saints to a 12-4 record and a playoff win while he threw for 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, and it didn't stop the team from being one of five in the league to average 30-plus points.

Thomas' absence didn't have a major impact on the Saints' ability to win over the 5-2 start guided by Jameis Winston this season before his year-ending knee injury, either. Winston threw for 14 touchdowns and three picks over seven appearances, albeit while the offense mustered just 180.9 passing yards per game (31st in the NFL).

Along the way, the defense let up just 18.3 points per game (fourth in the NFL) and picked off 11 passes, while receivers Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harris stepped up by averaging north of 14 yards per catch with five total receiving touchdowns.

Simply put, the Saints were always going to move away from the high-flying offensive identity once Brees left because there was no guarantee they'd have another quarterback who could pick up where Brees left off.

None of this is to say Thomas wouldn't provide a boon for the Saints on the field when he eventually returns. But by the time that rolls around, he'll be 29 years old, and there's no telling how this tricky ankle injury impacts the rest of his years as a pro. The Saints have to judge whether that potential upside is worth the cost—and the gains to be made if they move on from him.

Cutting or trading Thomas post-June 1 would save the Saints $15.8 million against the cap in 2022. He's due $52.1 million through 2024. The Saints are projected to be more than $50 million over the cap in 2022 as they try to dig out of a hole they put themselves in while going all-in for a championship over Brees' final years.

Shedding the Thomas contract is one way to speed things along. Besides the cap hole, major names like left tackle Terron Armstead and safety Marcus Williams headline the team's 2022 free-agent class. Those are core guys slated for major roles in the post-Brees era.

It's impossible to gauge what the Saints would get back in a trade for Thomas. On one hand, he's performed like one of the league's best players at his peak. On the other, his inability to stay on the field lately, the ankle injury, the contract and the fact that it seems obvious the Saints want to move on might encourage less-than-stellar offers.

But it only takes one team to make something happen. It's hard to ignore a possibility like Thomas' college coach, Urban Meyer, being more than happy to add him in an effort to help first overall pick Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, to throw out one hypothetical.

Maybe the compensation doesn't end up being great. But shedding the contract and gaining some sort of long-term asset to help the rebuild makes more sense than rostering a near-30-year-old player owed north of $50 million on a team that might not make a serious push for a few years while it resets the financial balances. There's always an outside chance Thomas' value is never this high again if he gets back on the field next year and isn't the same player or can't reliably get in games.

Gail Burton/Associated Press

One thing about the Saints, though, is that they always manage to pull some cap wizardry to escape predicaments. Despite the cap situation and the likelihood Thomas would've failed a physical if he was part of a deal, Kimberley A. Martin of ESPN reported the team had conversations about wideout Odell Beckham Jr. with the Cleveland Browns before the trade deadline.

The Saints will find a way at the position regardless. And if they want to move Thomas, he'll move (this is the team that traded guys in their primes like Brandin Cooks, Kenny Stills and Jimmy Graham).

Had Winston kept the Saints in the playoff hunt, maybe there would have been reason for the team to make it work with Thomas. But unless one of Trevor Siemian or Taysom Hill pulls off a stunner, the Saints figure to regress over the season's second half.

If the team fails to hit the playoffs for the first time since 2016, moving Thomas is a pretty good way to accelerate the ripping off of the Band-Aid that is the impending rebuild.

It doesn't feel like the Thomas-Saints relationship is unsalvageable. But from a team-building perspective, shipping Thomas to a willing trade partner next offseason might be the painfully smart move to improve the team's long-term outlook.

Salary-cap information courtesy of Over The Cap.