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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Latest On Saints WR Michael Thomas

August 14th, 2021 at 9:46am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like tensions between Michael Thomas and the Saints are continuing to cool off. Following a meeting between the wideout and coach Sean Payton earlier this week, Thomas is expected to be in attendance for tonight’s preseason opener, reports Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com.

The writer notes that “Thomas’ attendance came at the request of Payton,” and Duncan wouldn’t be surprised if the two are seen standing together “in a show of solidarity.” Of course, while both sides could put on a fake smile for the press, this seems to be a positive development as the organization looks to overcome their recent fallout.

To review: Thomas is expected to miss a chunk of the Saints’ 2021 campaign due to a late-offseason ankle surgery, and Payton revealed that he would have preferred the receiver underwent the procedure earlier in the offseason in order to be ready for the upcoming campaign. Thomas later fired back at his coach’s comments, leading to the face-to-face meeting earlier this week. According to Duncan, the two sides had a “productive talk,” and everyone left the meeting “feeling positive about the interaction.”

From the organization’s perspective, it always made more sense to resolve the issues vs. trading Thomas elsewhere. For starters, the receiver’s trade value has plummeted; since he shattered the NFL single-season reception record, with 149 in 2019, the Ohio State product has run into injury issues on multiple fronts and was suspended for a game for fighting with teammate Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The past year has affected Thomas’ standing around the league, with two GMs telling Yahoo’s Charles Robinson that the receiver’s trade value has fallen to the point no first-round pick could be attached in a deal without protections.

Of course, Thomas is also out for a while, so no trade would be imminent, regardless. Further, if Thomas does make a full recovery, it makes sense for the Saints to keep him as they look to kick off the post-Drew Brees era with either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/21

August 13th, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Chicago Bears

  • Waived: WR Thomas Ives

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/21

August 12th, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: CB Dominique Martin
  • Waived/injured: LB Randy Ramsey

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Re-signed: WR Darece Roberson
  • Waived: CB Bryan Mills

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: LB Reggie Floyd
  • Waived: WR Kalija Lipscomb
  • Waived/injured: OL Adam Coon

Saints, Michael Thomas Working To Resolve Issues

August 12th, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Continuing his downward trajectory from last season, Michael Thomas is expected to miss a chunk of the Saints’ 2021 campaign due to a late-offseason ankle surgery. The All-Pro wide receiver then sent out a tweet seemingly aimed at the Saints’ reaction to his medical decision, adding smoke to this simmering situation.

But cooler heads may prevail here. Thomas and Sean Payton met recently to discuss comments each made about this situation, according to Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson. Prior to Thomas’ tweet, Payton said he would have preferred his top wideout undergo surgery earlier this year in order to be ready for the season. The issue of Thomas ignoring Saints calls this offseason surely came up as well.

Both parties do not want this situation to escalate further, Robinson adds. This would be good news for the Saints, who are moving from one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history to a far less certain option under center. A Thomas trade would carry a significant dead-money charge as well.

Although other teams have moved past dead-money bloodbaths to separate from players — as in the cases of the Steelers (Antonio Brown), Rams (Jared Goff) and Eagles (Carson Wentz) — the Saints have depended on Thomas as their top target for years. They moved on from Emmanuel Sanders this offseason and do not have much behind Thomas in the way of reliable weaponry. Separating from the two-time All-Pro would leave Jameis Winston and/or Taysom Hill at an extreme disadvantage upon taking over for Drew Brees.

Thomas’ trade value has plummeted as well. Since he shattered the NFL single-season reception record, with 149 in 2019, the Ohio State product has run into injury issues on multiple fronts and was suspended for a game for fighting with teammate Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The past year has affected Thomas’ standing around the league, with two GMs expressing to Robinson a belief the receiver’s trade value has fallen to the point no first-round pick could be attached in a deal without protections. Another GM, however, added that a healthy Thomas would bring back a package of a first-round pick and change, which would be similar to the haul Stefon Diggs fetched last year. Since Thomas is not currently healthy, this is a moot point.

Contract Details: Allen, Alexander, McCoy, Barkley

August 11th, 2021 at 6:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Let’s catch up on the details of some of the high-profile contracts given out recently:

  • Josh Allen grabbed all the headlines by inking his mega-extension with the Bills. In an interesting piece, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com breaks down how it compares to the huge deal Patrick Mahomes recently signed with the Chiefs. For starters, Allen got a $16.5MM signing bonus, while Mahomes only got $10MM. Further, “the early cash flow for Allen is vastly superior to the Mahomes contract,” Florio writes. That’s because Mahomes’ deal is more back-loaded, while Allen is for example due $47MM in the second year of the pact. Mahomes’ contract is still worth more annually, but only because of the extra years at the end that his has. Through the first eight seasons of their respective deals, the compensation is nearly identical. Allen will clear $284.55MM through eight years, while Mahomes will get $285.33MM through the first eight years of his.
  • Last week the Saints agreed to terms on a one-year deal with linebacker Kwon Alexander, and now we have all the financials. We heard at the time it was worth “up to” $3MM. It turns out to have a base value of only $1.127MM, not too much above the minimum for a player with his service time, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football tweets. He got $387.5K in guaranteed money. Alexander will get another $200K if he plays 50% of the snaps in 13 games, another $300K for 15 games, and another $400K for 17 games. He also has another $972K in other unspecified playing time incentives. New Orleans cut him back in March to save $13MM in cap space, so even if Alexander hits all his incentives he’ll have taken a fairly hefty pay-cut. That’s unfortunately what happens when you’re coming off an Achilles tear like Alexander is. He started all seven games that he played for the Saints last year before going down.
  • Alexander wasn’t the only big name defensive player to sign last week, as defensive tackle Gerald McCoy also latched on with the Raiders. His one-year deal with Las Vegas is worth up to $2MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. He got a signing bonus of $150K and also has incentives worth $750K. The six-time Pro Bowler missed all of 2020 with a torn quad. Once one of the best interior linemen in the league, he turned 33 back in February.
  • Matt Barkley resurfaced with the Titans to give them some insurance behind Ryan Tannehill, and he got $1.1MM on a one-year deal, Rapoport notes in the same tweet. Rapsheet didn’t specify, but it seems unlikely that much if any of it was guaranteed. Tennessee apparently wasn’t happy with only having Logan Woodside behind Tannehill. Shortly after signing Barkley, they released Deshone Kizer. Woodside and Barkley will now battle it out for clipboard-holding duties.

Latest On Saints, Michael Thomas

August 10th, 2021 at 8:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Aug. 10: Unsurprisingly, the relationship between Thomas and the team is not in a good place, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link). Rapoport adds that a trade could be an option at some point, but given Thomas’ health issues, such a deal wouldn’t be consummated for a while. The two-time First Team All-Pro is likely to start the season on the PUP list, so he could not be dealt until right around the trade deadline.

And, if the Saints were to trade him, the team would be saddled with an $8MM dead money hit this year and a $22MM dead money hit in 2022. For a team with well-documented cap issues already, that would be a tough pill to swallow, especially since New Orleans would be selling low.

Aug. 7: Saints star Michael Thomas ignored check-in calls from team coaches and trainers throughout the offseason, according to sources who spoke with Jeff Duncan of Nola.com. Thomas ignored the club’s repeated pleas to have surgery on his injured ankle. Instead, he held off until June, which means that he’ll be sidelined to start the season.

[RELATED: Saints Sign LB Kwon Alexander]

Thomas got a second opinion on his injury and was told that he could avoid going under the knife. The Saints supported his decision but also asked for regular updates. Thomas then went three months without talking to team officials.

The Saints have since added veteran Chris Hogan and moved Ty Montgomery back to wide receiver. Those moves may help with depth, but neither player can realistically replicate Thomas’ production.

“It’s disappointing,” head coach Sean Payton said recently. “We would have liked (the surgery) to have happened earlier rather than later. And quite honestly, it should have.”

In 2019, Thomas finished with a single-season-record of 149 receptions to go along 1,725 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Last year was a different story. Between his one-game suspension and hamstring trouble, Thomas finished out with just 40 catches for 438 yards in seven games. On the plus side, he went on to notch five grabs for 73 yards and one score in the Saints’ playoff win over the Bears.

Saints CB Patrick Robinson To Retire

August 10th, 2021 at 11:25am CST by Sam Robinson

Patrick Robinson will stop short of playing a 12th NFL season. Midway through training camp, the veteran cornerback has told the Saints he plans to retire, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Robinson, 33, was going into the final year of his contract.

Like Malcolm Jenkins, Robinson entered the NFL as a Saints first-round pick who ended up playing a major role on the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl-winning team. Both DBs migrated back to New Orleans. While Jenkins continued to see steady time in his second Saints stint, Robinson became a part-timer. His exit will nonetheless strip the Saints of another veteran corner. The team released previous starter Janoris Jenkins earlier this year.

Robinson saw considerably more time during his first Saints go-round, playing five seasons with the team to start the 2010s. The 2010 first-rounder then made his way to the Chargers and Colts in consecutive years, before landing with the Eagles on one-year contract — his third straight — in 2017.

Robinson manned the slot in Philadelphia and joined Jenkins in helping the team upset the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The 5-foot-11 defender finished his age-30 season with four interceptions and graded as the league’s No. 6 overall cornerback that season, per Pro Football Focus. He added a pick-six in the Eagles’ NFC championship game rout against the Vikings.

The veteran parlayed that standout season into a four-year, $20MM deal to return to New Orleans. However, a broken ankle three games into the 2018 season sidetracked Robinson’s return. Although the Saints kept him on their roster in 2019 and 2020, Robinson topped out at just a 24% snap rate — in 2020 — during his second New Orleans tenure. He was a healthy scratch in the Saints’ divisional-round loss to the Buccaneers. The 11-year vet wraps his career with 16 interceptions — including a 99-yard pick-six in 2012 — and 83 passes defensed in 123 games.

The Saints have been on the lookout for cornerback help this offseason, attempting to trade up for Jaycee Horn or Patrick Surtain II and now being linked to Jaguars 2020 first-rounder C.J. Henderson. Robinson’s retirement underscores the team’s need at the position.

Saints To Sign K Brett Maher

August 9th, 2021 at 4:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints have moved quickly to land a Wil Lutz replacement. After their kicker suffered a groin injury, the Saints agreed to terms with Brett Maher, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets.

Maher worked out for the Saints on Monday. He will have the opportunity to relaunch a career that paused when the Cowboys cut him late in the 2019 season. Maher, 31, did not kick in 2020.

A two-year Dallas kicker, Maher spent time with four franchises since. He went to camp with the Jets last year but bounced to Washington, Houston and Arizona. The Cardinals retained Maher via reserve/futures contract in January but cut him in March.

While the Cowboys parted ways with Maher late in 2019, moving to Greg Zuerlein the following offseason, he displayed historic long-range accuracy during his short stint in Dallas. Maher became the first kicker in NFL history to make three 60-plus-yard field goals, accomplishing this feat during the 2018 and ’19 seasons. However, after he made more than 80% of his field goals in 2018, Maher was just 20-for-30 a year later. Maher first broke into the NFL as a UDFA in 2013, but after failing to secure a role, he moved to the CFL for a four-season run.

Lutz has been New Orleans’ kicker for the past five seasons. He is likely to undergo core muscle surgery, and the procedure would sideline him for a few months. An IR move before the season starts would knock Lutz out for the year. If the Saints want to use Lutz this season, they would need to carry him onto their 53-man roster before placing him on IR ahead of Week 1.

Saints Pursuing CBs, Interested In Jaguars’ C.J. Henderson

August 9th, 2021 at 2:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

After their efforts to trade up for a cornerback in the first round failed, the Saints are trying another upgrade avenue months later. They are exploring trade options at corner, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com tweets.

This includes C.J. Henderson, whom the Jaguars may well be dangling in trades. The Jags are believed to be open to moving last year’s No. 9 overall pick, and Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed adds that Jacksonville’s new Urban Meyer-led regime is not as high on the Florida alum (Twitter link).

New Orleans returns Marshon Lattimore, but previous starter Janoris Jenkins became one of the team’s cap casualties this offseason. Interestingly, the Saints did acquire multiple corners — in third-rounder Paulson Adebo and veteran slot defender Brian Poole — this year. Adding Henderson or someone else on this level would certainly change the equation for the reigning NFC South champs, who made efforts to trade up for Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II this year.

Lattimore is under contract for just one more season, but the Saints are believed to prioritize the former first-round pick over franchise-tagged safety Marcus Williams. A trade for Henderson would be pricey; the Jags are likely making him available only for a major return. But, like Minkah Fitzpatrick at the time he was dealt, Henderson would be attached to three more seasons of rookie-deal money. With Lattimore perhaps on the cusp of securing a top-market cornerback contract, a high-end rookie-deal complementary piece would make sense.

Saints’ Wil Lutz To Miss Time?

August 9th, 2021 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints might need a new kicker. Wil Lutz has aggravated a groin injury that may require surgery (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

Between this year’s numbers crunch, Drew Brees‘ retirement, David Onyemata‘s suspension, and Michael Thomas‘ ankle injury, the Saints could wind up with eleven new starters in their season opener, as ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett notes (Twitter link).

Lutz, 27, is attached to a five-year, $20.25MM extension he signed in March 2019. At the time of signing, that made him the highest-paid kicker in NFL history. He rewarded the team’s confidence early on in that deal, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2019. The Saints have him under club control through 2023.

Lutz has made 86.6% of his field goal tries across his five-year career, positioning him as one of the best kickers in the game. He’s also made 253 out of 260 extra point attempts in the elongated XP era.

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