Saints expected to release iconic receiver

Thomas, who turned 31 last week, missed the Saints’ final seven games due to a knee injury. This ran the former All-Pro’s missed-games count to a whopping 48 since 2020. Various injuries are responsible for this, and the most recent one paused a season in which Thomas had accumulated 39 receptions for 448 yards in 10 games. The yardage total doubles as his most since he notched an NFL-leading 1,725 during the 2019 season, which featured a still-standing NFL record of 149 catches.

That season came on the heels of the Saints giving the former second-round pick a five-year, $96.25M extension. Thomas had run off back-to-back first-team All-Pro seasons in 2018 and 2019, helping Drew Brees remain one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks into his early 40s. But the ankle, foot and knee trouble that has thrown the Ohio State alum’s career off course in the 2020s will almost definitely lead him out of town.

This being the Saints, a complex contract structure is in place. The parties, after multiple adjustments last year, agreed to give it another try on what amounted to a $10M payment. Thomas’ latest contract was designed to be extended or shed from the Saints’ payroll, as ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell notes; the latter course will bring about a $11.2M in dead money via a post-June 1 designation. It appears the Saints will use both their allotted post-June 1 moves this year, with Marcus Maye also set to be cut on March 13.

Thomas was also arrested on a simple battery charge last year and Duncan adds the talented wideout gained a reputation as a difficult personality inside the Saints’ facility. While this clearly did not dissuade the Dennis Allen-led team from signing off on another reunion last year, as Thomas said he was only interested in playing for the Saints again, the parties will go their separate ways soon.

Although the Broncos are the current landing spot for ex-Saints, it will be interesting to see if Sean Payton would take a chance here. Thomas rankled the Saints by not going through with an ankle surgery early during the 2021 offseason, leading to a mid-offseason operation that delayed his return in what became Payton’s final year with the team. A setback then led to Thomas missing all of the 2021 season, leaving the Saints with a bottom-tier receiving corps. While the Broncos have some issues to sort out at receiver, Thomas would not seem a lock to reunite with Payton once the Saints officially move on. But adding a former All-Pro at a low rate could appeal to a team regrouping after what will become the most expensive release in NFL history.