Deciding who was the toughest departure for the New Orleans Saints came down to Michael Thomas and Andrus Peat. Balancing talent, importance and availability led to these two veterans being tied at number one.
Fans have been calling for Peat’s departure for years, but now that he’s gone, it feels like a “be careful what you wish for” situation. Peat was serviceable at left tackle in 2023 after taking over for Trevor Penning.
The Saints drafted Taliese Fuaga in the first round to now man that position and sent Penning to right tackle. You can’t help but wonder if keeping Fuaga at his natural position and retaining Peat at left tackle wouldn’t have yielded better results. Penning’s performance will likely determine the answer to that.
The Saints also have uncertainty at left guard. With all of the uncertainty on the offensive line, Peat could have been a valuable asset.
The loss of Michael Thomas is tough to quantify. He’s barely played a season’s worth of games in totality over the last four years. He showed he could still be productive, even if it wasn’t to the degree we were once accustomed to.
Thomas elevates the floor and ceiling of the receiver room. This is Chris Olave’s room, but Thomas gives you another player you feel can takeover a game on occasion. Thomas is easily the greatest talent to walk away from the team in 2024, but his injuries lessen his stock. Peat may have been frustrating, but the offensive line in a state where he would have been useful.
The best talent versus arguably the player creating the biggest void ends in a tie. Michael Thomas and Andrus Peat share the distinction of being the toughest departures this offseason for the Saints.
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