The Saints are in dire straits heading into the 2022 offseason.
Not only is New Orleans $74 million over the salary cap with no clear-cut starting quarterback, but the team also just lost head coach Sean Payton, who resigned on Tuesday. With so much uncertainty surrounding the Saints, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah recommended teams call New Orleans to gauge trade interest in some of the team’s expensive veterans. Twelve Saints have a cap hit of at least $10 million heading into next season. The Saints will undoubtedly have to unload some of those exorbitant contracts in order to get under the cap.
The Jets should certainly be one of those teams calling. New York has the money – $48.45 million, per Over The Cap – and the draft capital to add a star player at a key position.
Gang Green should focus its efforts on one player: WR Michael Thomas. New York needs a true No. 1 receiver alongside Elijah Moore and Corey Davis, and Thomas is one of the best in the NFL when healthy.
Thomas caught at least 92 receptions for more than 1,000 yards every season from 2016-2019. He added 32 touchdowns, led the NFL in receptions from 2018-2019 with 274, and led the league in receiving yards in 2019 with 1,725.
Injuries forced Thomas to the sideline the past two seasons, though. He missed nine games in 2020 with an ankle injury and the entire 2021 season following offseason ankle surgery. That’s concerning, but Thomas should be healthy in time for the 2022 season.
The biggest issue with Thomas is the cost, in terms of a trade and his salary.
Thomas has three years left on his deal and is owed $15.8 million in 2022, $16.45 million in 2023 and a non-guaranteed $19.7 million in 2024, according to ESPN’s Mike Triplett. Those aren’t horrific numbers, though it would behoove the Saints to wait until after June 1 to trade him. They’re on the hook for $22.7 million if they deal him before and only $8.9 million after. The Jets can certainly absorb Thomas’ contract, either way.
But it remains unknown what the Saints would want for Thomas.
A lot of draft picks are likely required for any deal considering Thomas is only two years removed from earning an Offensive Player of the Year award. The Titans traded a second- and fourth-round pick for 32-year-old Julio Jones last offseason, so the Saints would likely want more than that for the almost-29-year-old Thomas. Considering the desperation of the Saints, though, any team could negotiate down to help New Orleans offload a monster cap hit.
At the very least, Joe Douglas should call Saints GM Mickey Loomis. Douglas insinuated the Jets would be aggressive this offseason in his end-of-season press conference because of their cap space and draft picks. Trading for Thomas would be a great start in making that a reality.
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