Tag: Rumor

Sean Payton has the perfect response to Michael Thomas trade rumor

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was not amused to see his star receiver Michael Thomas speculated as possible trade bait by the media.

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Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio created a stir on Saturday by raising questions about Michael Thomas’s status with the New Orleans Saints — asking whether the Saints could trade their star receiver before the NFL’s Nov. 3 deadline.

We already wrote about the several ways that makes no sense, but leave it to Saints coach Sean Payton to bring the hammer down himself.

Payton, who recently protected his tweets by making his official Twitter account private, responded to a Bleacher Report post citing Florio’s post by commenting, “Outsiders on the Inside where they belong.”

If that doesn’t silence these rumors, I’m not sure what will. The Saints have been patient with Thomas as he’s recovered from a Week 1 ankle sprain, and they’re just as disappointed to be playing without him as he is to not be able to join his teammates.

Hopefully he can get back to action soon and start executing Payton’s plays as well as anyone ever has (if not better). The Saints are a better team with Thomas in the fold, and everyone in the building knows that. As Payton pointed out, maybe those outside the facility should learn better.

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Michael Thomas trade rumor: Don’t buy into the splash reports

The New Orleans Saints should not consider moving Michael Thomas before the NFL trade deadline, no matter what Pro Football Talk speculates.

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It’s a day that ends with “Y,” so Mike Florio found a pot to stir over at Pro Football Talk. This time he’s speculating as to whether the New Orleans Saints will try to trade embattled wide receiver Michael Thomas ahead of the NFL’s Nov. 3 deadline, or whether Thomas himself wants out.

Citing sources “in league circles,” Florio raised the question on Saturday with no basis and no knowledge from anyone in a position to know anything about what’s going on behind the scenes in New Orleans. He’s making it up whole cloth.

Sure, he admitted as much in his post for PFT, and from the jump described Thomas as an unlikely name to appear in trade talks before the cutoff date. Which undercuts all of this speculation.

The proposal makes even less sense the longer you think about it. New Orleans is laser-focused on winning a Super Bowl so long as Drew Brees is its quarterback, and trading away his best receiver doesn’t do a single thing to help accomplish that. No package of draft picks to spend after Brees has retired will help the Saints reach that goal. Would a team offering a player similar to Thomas in a swap help facilitate a deal? I don’t think so.

That doesn’t even get into the financial aspect of it. Trading Thomas would make the 2021 salary cap situation even more complicated, adding $20 million in dead money onto their accounting. If Brees retires as is expected, it would mean paying more than $46 million to two players not on the team (as Florio also pointed out, poking another hole in his idea).

Maybe things look different in the offseason. The Saints have shipped their best options out of town before; Jimmy Graham and Brandin Cooks stand out, but so do lesser weapons like Darren Sproles and Kenny Stills. But if the Saints want to set Taysom Hill (or Jameis Winston, or someone else) up for success as the heir to Brees, you’d think keeping Thomas around to helm the receiving corps would be the play.

Almost every player has a price when teams talk trades, barring the highest-paid quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. It’s possible that a team could wrest Thomas away in the spring for a Jamal Adams-style trade package involving multiple first-round picks. That would sure help the Saints retool and reload for life after Brees. But “possible” isn’t the same thing as “likely,” which isn’t close to the same level as “yeah, it’s happening.” The contract the Saints paid Thomas last summer put him in place as a keystone of the offense for years to come.

So don’t spend too much time worrying about this. Maybe the situation looks different six months from now. But for now, Thomas is just as frustrated with the injuries that have kept him off the field as the Saints are. It’s what led to his scrap with a teammate and the one-game benching that all parties have moved on from. Hopefully this hamstring issue doesn’t keep him out of action much longer.

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Report: Washington involves LB Ryan Anderson in trade talks

As the final roster-cut is less than a day away, Washington is reportedly involving LB Ryan Anderson in trade talks.

With less than a day until the Washington Football Team is forced to cut down their roster to 53 players, a report has surfaced that LB Ryan Anderson is being raised in trade talks, according to Albert Breer.

Anderson has played well in training camp thus far, but his position on the Washington defense is an interesting one, as his position is unknown thanks to the switch from a 3-4 to 4-3 scheme. In the old 3-4 scheme, Anderson played as an outside linebacker, but in a 4-3 scheme, he doesn’t fit perfectly into a DE edge rusher role.

Nonetheless, Anderson has played well thus far, and Washington would likely be able to at the very least get a decent mid-round draft pick for him in return if they were to find a trade suitor. Stay tuned.

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Report: Saints, Steelers to play nationally-broadcast preseason game

The New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers will play a prime-time preseason game in Week 2 of the NFL preseason, reports The Athletic.

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While the NFL is planning to announce its 2020 schedule of games on Thursday evening, it is also finalizing its slate of preseason exhibition games. Per The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan, one of those kickoffs will be a prime-time matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, which will be broadcast nationally on FOX.

That’s a game the Saints will travel to Pittsburgh for, and it’s possible they will try to organize joint practices with the Steelers. It’s a favorite training camp tactic of Saints coach Sean Payton, who has worked to run joint practices with preseason opponents including the Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, and Houston Texans in past years. Duncan also reported that the Saints requested just such an arrangement with the Los Angeles Rams, but it’s unclear yet whether the NFL approved that request.

In any case: these shared workouts give teams an opportunity to test and evaluate their players against uncommon opponents, following weeks of grueling training camp practices against their own teammates. Getting to compete against new faces and fresh skills sets is a great learning tool.

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Report: Saints, Vikings to play rare Friday NFL game on Christmas Day

The New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings are reportedly scheduled to play a rare Friday NFL game on Christmas Day 2020, per The Athletic

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There haven’t been many NFL games played on Christmas Day, and even fewer have kicked off on Friday. But per a report from Jeff Duncan of The Athletic, the New Orleans Saints will accomplish both feats against the Minnesota Vikings in 2020.

Duncan reports that the Saints and Vikings will play again — their fifth meeting since the 2017 season-opener, including the playoffs (and excepting a 2019 preseason game) — on Dec. 25, 2020. Traditionally, the NFL limits its games to Sunday, Monday, and Thursday kickoffs, except for a few select Saturday games after the college football season concludes.

A Saints-Vikings game on Christmas Day, which falls on a Friday this year, might conflict with the upcoming NBA schedule. The NBA often schedules big-time matchups to dominate the holiday’s sports broadcasts, so this might be a sign that the NFL is aware of different plans from across the aisle. The coronavirus pandemic has prompted every professional sports league to review its plans for the 2020-2021 season, and things figure to look differently later this year.

The time for this Saints game isn’t settled just yet, though Duncan’s colleague at The Athletic, Katherine Terrell, suggested an afternoon time slot of 3 or 3:30 p.m. CT might be where it settles.

Remember, nothing is official until the Saints or the NFL announces it so stay tuned for confirmation. The NFL will reveal its full 2020 schedule in a prime-time release at 7 p.m. CT, while the Saints and other teams are allowed to release their individual lineups thirty minutes earlier.

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Report: NFL might take action against teams abusing comp pick system

The New Orleans Saints are finally projected to earn a few compensatory picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, but the league office might reject them

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After spending most of the last few decades ignoring the very idea of earning compensatory draft picks, the New Orleans Saints maneuvered themselves to receive a few extra selections in the 2021 NFL Draft. Their trades in this year’s draft gave up future selections in the same rounds they’re expected to receive additional picks, adding an element of strategy to those moves.

One of those picks is projected to be a third-rounder, which the Saints would earn for losing Teddy Bridgewater in free agency. While the team is negotiating a deal with veteran passer Jameis Winston, their savvy move to wait until after Monday’s cutoff date for qualifying picks would protect that pick.

Unless the NFL steps in. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein reported Tuesday that conversations around the league suggest the NFL might step in to penalize teams believed to have “intentionally gamed the system” by following the rules and not signing a free agent until after the established deadline. That doesn’t pass the smell test.

It would be difficult for the league office to prove any such collusion happened, requiring statements from both the team and the player’s agents that both sides agreed to wait until after the cutoff to finalize a deal. And even if that were the case, these sort of “handshake agreements” have been happening for years.

Why on earth would the NFL punish one of its franchises for being mindful of a deadline it maintains? What’s the point in scheduling that cutoff date if they plan on penalizing a team for taking action to work around it? Why have it in the first place?

As Zierlein himself noted in his report, he doesn’t expect anything to come of this noise. So it’s probably just a big nothingburger. But the fact that any discussions are happening at all sure smells fishy.

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Draft rumors: Saints connected to all-star Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor

The New Orleans Saints could be targeting superstar Wisconsin Badgers prospect Jonathan Taylor in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

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What are the New Orleans Saints going to do in the first round of this year’s NFL draft? If the latest reports are any indication, even they aren’t sure.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini shared her insight into the team’s current thinking, adding onto an earlier report that the Saints had made an effort to explore trade opportunities ahead of their first pick at No. 24. While the team is still prepared to make a move up the board if the value checks out, she said, they’re also content to stay in place and add the best player available.

But the positions the Saints might be targeting are surprising. Russini reported that they are projecting options at cornerback and along the offensive line to be available once they’re on the clock — along with Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor.

Taylor’s inclusion is surprising, least of all because his arrival to New Orleans would all but ensure Alvin Kamara is on the way out with a big contract extension on the horizon. But it’s easy to see why Taylor would pique Sean Payton’s interest.

The 5-foot-10, 226 pounder shattered any concerns about his athleticism at the NFL Scouting Combine, timing the 40 yard dash in a blazing 4.39 seconds. He followed that up with impressive performances in the stationary jumps and positional drills. But he’s not just a workout warrior.

Taylor averaged more than 150 rushing yards per game at Wisconsin, setting the bar with a 1,977-yard performance as a true freshman in 2017. He ended his Badgers career ranked among school leaders in every meaningful rushing stat, scoring 50 touchdowns on the ground. He also proved he could be an asset on passing downs as a junior last year, reeling in 26 passes to gain another 252 receiving yards with five touchdown catches.

Taylor could certainly coexist with Kamara, for a time — he would be even better suited to handling battering-ram duties than Latavius Murray, freeing Kamara up to catch a million passes or so out of the backfield. If Kamara and Mark Ingram could work together, Taylor could definitely fit in as well.

If he’s actually the pick, of course. This is peak lying season in the NFL and it might be a smokescreen put out from the team to obscure their intentions; Russini threw in that the Saints are explicitly not targeting a wide receiver, for example. Whatever the case, we’ll find out along with the Saints and everyone else in just a few hours.

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Saints have done their homework on a possible draft-day trade

The New Orleans Saints have done their diligence in starting trade talks with many teams slotted ahead of them in the 2020 NFL Draft.

 

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The New Orleans Saints are always one of the most aggressive teams during the NFL draft, and that’s how Sean Payton wants it. The Saints head coach has traded up in every draft he’s overseen (except for his first year on the job, way back in 2006; the Saints also stood pat in 2012, when he was suspended), trusting his team’s evaluations to target a prospect who easily fits what they want. That trend could continue in 2020.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported Thursday that the Saints have touched base with each team slotted to pick above them in the first round to see what it would take to move up the board. It’s more important to do that legwork this year than ever before, with technology limitations possibly slowing down negotiations once teams are on the clock. Having the framework for a potential trade already in place, primed and ready to pull the trigger, makes plenty of sense. It’s simply doing your due diligence.

However, Russini cautioned that news by adding that the Saints feel they could get good value by remaining at No. 24, with internal projections putting them in good position to improve. They won’t trade up just for the sake of it.

But other teams could force their hand. The Saints share roster needs at linebacker and wide receiver with many teams directly ahead of them, including the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 20, the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 21, and the Minnesota Vikings at No. 22 (and the New England Patriots at No. 24, who might also be eyeing Utah State quarterback Jordan Love). Possibly losing out on a highly-rated prospect like Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray or LSU’s Justin Jefferson could prompt the Saints to be proactive on Thursday night.

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‘100% False’ Jarrad Davis trade rumor reminds fans to be careful who you trust

Information can come from anywhere, but the recent “100% False” Jarrad Davis trade rumor reminds fans to be careful who you trust.

Social media can be an incredibly valuable resource, but unless you know which sources to trust, it can lead you down a rabbit hole of broad speculations and inaccurate information.

This morning, an individual on Twitter who presents themselves as “NFL Aficionado” stated that Detroit Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis had “fallen out of favor with Matt Patricia’s coaching staff” and was “available via trade”.

Several Lions fans reached out to Lions Wire editors for confirmation of this claim.

Initially, we were confused by the suggestion as we had heard nothing to suggest the idea had any merit. Furthermore, Lions coaches have consistently only had positive things to say about Davis, both on and off the record, adding more conflicting evidence to the situation.

Then, as they did with the Matthew Stafford trade rumors, the team reached out to a small group of local reporters and shut the door on the rumor, calling it “100% False”.

That’s a swift and emphatic denial, directly from the Lions.

Accurate information can come from a lot of sources, and everyone can make a mistake, but the Davis trade rumor offers fans a reminder to be careful who you trust.

Good news for the Lions, Tua Tagovailoa’s hip ‘fracture has healed’

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s hip “fracture has healed”, which should increase the value of Detroit Lions’ third overall draft pick.

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s health will directly impact his draft stock and the healthier he is ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft, the better it will be for the Detroit Lions, as it should increase the value of the Lions’ third overall draft pick.

It was good news all around when, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Tagovailoa’s hip “fracture has healed”, indicating he continues on his track to recovery.

Tagovailoa was once considered the top overall prospect in this draft cycle but his hip injury — coupled with Joe Burrow’s sensational National Championship winning season — has complicated matters for his draft stock value. But if his health checks out, he’s back in contention at the top of the draft.

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With Chase Young (EDGE, Ohio State) also in the mix within the first three selections, these three prospects are players teams would consider trading up for making the Lions pick No. 3 overall very valuable.

Teams will get medical updates on all prospects at the NFL Combine at the end of the month and the trade rumor mill will likely to be in full motion in Indianapolis.

Stay tuned to Lions Wire for more updates on the situation as it continues to unfold.