Michael Thomas, in all likelihood, is staying put. The star wide receiver has agreed to a restructure that will save the Saints $8.7MM in cap space (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
The Saints have been restructuring players left and right as they work to get under the ~$182MM salary cap. In recent days, safety Malcolm Jenkins, defensive end Cam Jordan, linebacker Demario Davis, and guard Andrus Peat have done their part by agreeing to similar arrangements. Others, like cornerback Janoris Jenkins and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, were released outright. It’s not clear if those vets were approached about potential pay cuts first.
Entering 2020, Thomas had missed just two contests in his pro career. Then, Thomas suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1. He was limited to just seven games in 2020. He repeatedly clashed Saints brass, leading to trade speculation before the fall deadline.
To recap: The Saints handed Thomas a one-game suspension for striking a teammate. Then, he missed time with a hamstring injury. All in all, Thomas finished out the regular season with just 40 catches for 438 yards. He did manage to catch five passes for 73 yards and one score in the Saints’ playoff win over the Bears, however.
The Saints would have to be especially miserable with Thomas in order to cut ties. His massive five-year, $100MM extension from 2019 means that a divorce would be mighty expensive. Instead, they’ll try to mend fences, because Thomas is one of the game’s most dangerous threats when he’s healthy.
This most likely squashes my hopes of him coming to Las Vegas. He’d be a perfect fit for what they actually need.
They have to figure out this massive cap hit issue that is preventing trades. Owners have never cared about loyalty to players and now the players have figured out that they don’t need to be loyal to the organization either.
There’s not even a slim chance. He is staying in the Dome
Obviously. My comment was more a macro conversation. Goff sucked. Wentz was a disaster for Philly because of the cap hit. Thomas can’t be traded because of his. The big contracts are great for keeping a guy stuck with his team, but it would be better if they could move without crippling the original team.
He would actually be a great fit in Vegas. Thomas on a slant is deadly, which is right up Carr’s alley.