Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Thomas is probably gone.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Absolutely gone. The twist is that while the $31 million roster bonus would be paid in the 2024 league year, that bonus becomes guaranteed in March 2023, two months from now. There's no way the Saints are going to guarantee MT13 that money without having seen him this season.

Happy trails to MT13. Hope things work out from him in his next endeavor so long as that's with a AFC team.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

I hope he is gone. If he is retained I feel it is likely that a CGJ type situation arises with Shaheed or Olave we are told they HAD TO be traded away cheap in a rush because they were not on the same page as the coach and were uncoachable. In reality it will be because we could not afford to cut MT, so we had to save a starting spot for him even if he would be injured, so we had to trade a better more reliable player to start a less reliable player to justify a salary to hide the fact that the way we manage our cap prevents us from cutting injury riddled busts.

Also I hope that if he is cut, he stays within the division and gets a monster contract.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

It's a win/win for both. If the Saints keep him, it guarantees him his money. For MT, this also forces the Saints to make an earlier decision. So that if he's cut, he's cut at the beginning of FA.

The move also helps the Saints a little on the cap which is something the Saints desperately need.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Hopefully this means we could get a trade partner or 2, to give us back some draft capital and start rebuilding this team.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Michael Who?

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Could be ... Although when healthy , he is a difference maker . The cap relief does give flexibility . I still wouldn't be opposed his being part of the rotation next year. Olave, Shaheed and MT, plus backups are a formidable WR room. Dijon Dixon and Merrick, although not used but should have been, provide adequate depth. Landry is still under contract too. So keep him one more year then move on. There will be opportunities for fresh meat with UDFA and regular FA too.

It's the TE and RB room that needs more capable bodies.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Michael Thomas was a stud for us before he was injured. He tried real hard to come back but the medical advice was again inadequate. I blame his injury on the team doctors. And I'm sure he does too. It would be nice if we can get a high draft pick for him because hopefully, he still has value just not to us.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Piss him off real good and watch him go sign a one-year deal with Tampn or Atlunta..

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

That would fall right in line with the Saints history. Those teams love our castoffs. I want to see him play well wherever he goes unless he goes to a division rival. I'd lose the last bit of respect for the man that I have if he signs with Atlanta or Carolina.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

But when was "healthy" though? Mike will be 30 in March, he's starting to break down physically & let's be honest here but the Saints are 2 seasons away from truly competing again. MT has played in 10 games in 3 years.

He's gone.

As for Landry .. meh. Probably needs its own thread but Andrus Peat needs to be gone too. Another highly compensated player that cannot stay on the field.

Shakeups are needed and necessary this off-season in New Orleans.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Ok how do we do that? I want him to sign within the division. Honestly my best hope for the offseason is that Atlanta gives Lamar Jackson $50 million a year for 8 years fully guaranteed after trading a bunch of first round picks for him and gives as much as possible to Michael Thomas to be his #1 WR and if possible signs Andrus Peat too. If I don't think our team should do something, I think its a bad move, so I hope our rivals do it. If Atlanta could bring Christian McCaffery back to the NFC south that would be great too.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

You don't want that smoke
He would thrive playing a menace
He is nowhere near done with his work ethic all he needs is his health and I believe will attain that due to will alone.
You don't want him in the division

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

I say I do want him in the division. Lots of players have work ethic and none have come back from missing 40 of 50 games to injury and been reliable. And who knows what work ethic he even has. Is fighting CGJ in practice work? Are cryptic social media posts work? Is watching Netflix while delaying a needed surgery work? I mean just he is good athlete, he did a lot of practicing to get where he did, he did some jumping jacks, push ups, ran some laps. But so did all good players before they had to face an injury.

So yeah I hope he comes to our division and tries to play a menace. I am not afraid of his work ethic. Little revenge narratives won't keep a player healthy. Jimmy G was cast aside and traded for peanuts. I am sure he wanted to menace the NFL. But every year he menaces the hospital cafeteria. I want Michael Thomas in a Falcons, Panthers, or Bucs uniform when he is menacing the hospital cafeteria next year.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

BYE Mike... errr Prima Donna.

heard it here first ... 3 years ago. :rofl:

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Gone Pecan!!! :beatnik:

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

uhh.... no. Turf toe.... :rofl: :beatnik:

told you this 3 years ago

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

I’d like to see him in street clothes on their sideline stealing money.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Fair enough
You believe what you want to believe and I'm going to believe what I choose to believe.


I think he will be back full force honestly ..
I know the body ages and breaks down, but with all that time off not taking hits and not putting hard miles on joints has to extend time before breakdown to some degree.
I guess you could get injured walking in a cafeteria line also so who knows.. Plates of food are added weight, I guess..



He's not NFL young anymore but he isn't NFL old old either lol


You may be right
I may be right
Everybody may be right to some extent and ultimately most of us may be wrong so who gives a ****.
We're not getting paid to debate and It doesn't have to be that serious or maybe it does.
To each his own..


We got one more game left and I hope we stomp a mudhole in their ass.
I will be putting my 18-wheeler in the wind tonight and should be home right before kickoff good lord willing.
Not that y'all give **** but I'll be hammered down Rollin and Strollin staying away from
the window lickers and screwballs



*But you still don't want him in the division lol




To be cont'd....:bng:

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

We'll see. Maybe we can squeeze out one more year then dump him... or maybe not. We are paying him after all, aren't we?

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Mike will be a post June 1st cut.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

How would that work financially? Once the $31 million roster bonus is guaranteed, then the Saints are responsible for it whether or not MT13 is on the squad in 2024, right. So, if the Saints keep MT13 in 2023 with the $1 million salary, he doesn't produce, and they finally part ways after 2023, even if MT13 doesn't get the $31 million because he isn't on the roster, the Saints would still have to apply that $31 million to the cap.

That's my understanding of it. Given those circumstances, and given the injury history over the last three years, is it worth rolling the dice.

I may be seeing it incorrectly. Please clarify if I have it wrong.

SFIAH

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

The last time Michael Thomas made a difference or had over a 450 yard season Jeffery Epstein was alive… most of the world had not heard of COVID, and Saintsfan still posted here.

4 years in a league where the average career lasts 3.3 years is an eternity. We hope he has something left but that has yet to be proven or even hinted at on the field.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Michael Thomas "made a difference" as recently as last season. A huge difference, scoring all but one of the Saints four TD's in the first two games before suffering the season ending injury in week three. That seems to hint at having something left, don't you think? :D

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Wait.... JE is not still alive and not in the witness protection program? WTF !

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

lol

Sir Smash :p

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

There is always the draft :bng: .

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

It may be more accurate to say that the last time Michael Thomas was able to stay healthy and remain on the field was 4 years ago. When back, he has flashed ability, but not been able to maintain availability. He is like Chad Pennington as a WR. Pennington had the the ability. The likelihood is not that Michael Thomas plays 17 games and looks like Trequan Smith, its that he plays 3 games and looks like Michael Thomas and forces us to adjust our roster, playbook, and game plans from week 4 on when he peaces out again, and we lose a good receiver we cut to hold his spot, we waste $10 million on his salary, and we tick off all the receivers below him who get demoted down a level with his return for 3 games and then promoted back and feel that we didn't really want them in their roles. He could decline someday and become Trequan too, but for now he is a great talent that can't stay healthy with a very physical style of play. He can dead lift all he wants, but I am not confident that means anything about his ability to avoid injury cutting, going vertical, and absorbing hits.

Also it's important to keep Thomas' 3 TDs last year in perspective. In those 2 games we played two teams that finished below .500 and we went 1-1 against them, with the only win coming in a late comeback against a rebuilding Falcons team. He helped us perform in the 4th quarter against the Falcons but didn't do much the first 3 quarters. Then he helped us score a total of 10 points in losing to the later 8-9 Bucs. So yes he had a nice stretch with 3 TDs in two games. But still he just racked some stats up against bad teams in games where we mostly struggled on offense anyway. At no point did he make our offense appear to be a juggernaut, more like he looked like the Brandin Cooks of our Texans-caliber offense. We didn't get enough sample size to know if he is Justin Jefferson or Brandin Cooks at this point in ability to produce. So, I don't think thats worth gambling $10-15 million on 20% chance of availability because he would not be worth $50-75 million a year if fully healthy but still inconsistent and producing bursts of stats against sub-.500 teams.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Yes... They need to. Who they get depends on who falls down the draft in a supposedly deeper WR class.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Drafting Darnell Washington could help with that. Charbonnet is reportedly an asset in the passing game as well. Grab those two along with Kamara and Juwan Johnson along with our current wr corps and we can have some serious options outside of Mike if he’s not available.
We also have wr options to consider in FA after cuts.
Just throwing some different options out there…

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

So what you're saying is if a guy like Jonathan Mingo falls to us at the bottom of round #1 and he's the best available player on our board, he's our guy ? ;).

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

If Mingo is there , he's not BPA on the board. Based on the mocks I've done so far , there are other position group ahead as t that spot.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Why do we need an insurance policy for our #3 receiver? Who are the insurance policies for Calvin Ridley, Julio Jones? Do the Eagles need an insurance polocy for Rashaad Penny?

We could still draft a WR at some point but a more dynamic TE, better LG, or more depth on oline would probably benefit our offense more. And in the 7th round, an insurance policy for Lutz?

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

The Saints would be crazy NOT to draft a WR in 2023. It's just a matter of which round they select.

After Olave & Shaheed, it gets really dicey + we have suspect depth at the position. You BUILD for the NOW and later.

When was the last time you looked at the Eagles WR/TE roster & depth chart? AJ Brown, Devonta, Quez, and a TE named Dallas Goedert :rolleyes: (see Philly in the 2022 Super Bowl).

We don't have that type of talent or depth at those positions.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

Don't get me wrong, I think Michael Thomas was one of the best receivers in the league a few years back, maybe the best. The weird thing about him though is he's just never felt as dangerous in a game to me as some other receivers. Like he feels like one of those consistency guys, not one of those guys that put their will on the opponent or something if that makes sense. Maybe I'm crazy.

It's not something that I'm openly criticizing him for, but I've just never thought of him as some all-time great receiver like some people were expecting him to become.

Re: Michael Thomas agrees to restructured contract
 

What he was, and what I believe he still will be, is a first down machine. On third and whatever he is automatic. He catches anything thrown his direction. He's not going to bust a bunch of 60 yard plays, but he will have 12 catches for 145 yards producing ten clutch first downs more times than not.