Given the injuries and issues surrounding Saints receiver Michael Thomas, who has played in only one game this season, some have wondered whether the Saints may be hoping someone will make the team an offer it can’t refuse.
Whether the Saints are or aren’t interested in hearing what someone may be willing to offer before next Tuesday, November 3, this much is true: The Thomas camp has tried to get another team to make the Saints an offer for the man who set the single-season receiving record in 2019.
No offer has been made to the Saints, and at this point the belief is that no offer will be made.
It’s unclear what it would take to get Thomas. Although the move would result in the Saints absorbing a $20 million cap charge, there’s surely a package of players and picks that would get them to consider it.
Few players are truly untouchable, perhaps with the exception of a handful of franchise quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray) and defensive linemen (Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett, and perhaps the Bosas). Thomas isn’t untouchable. But it would take a lot to get him, and that’s not a move anyone is currently willing to make.
Whether the issue is revisited in the offseason remains to be seen. For now, though, it’s highly unlikely that Thomas will be traded -- primarily because the effort to get someone to make an offer has been unsuccessful.