Michael Thomas’ disappointing 2020 may bring trade rumors into play

It would’ve been nearly impossible for Michael Thomas to do better than he did in 2019, but his disappointing 2020 was something no one was expecting.

Michael Thomas played through nagging injuries that followed him throughout most of the season, and that’s the very first thing we should note.

On the outside, it just looked like he had a severely mediocre season, but following the team’s Divisional Round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we learned more details of what Thomas suffered through.

However, because of his massive salary, a contract he signed two years ago, combined with his poor season, Thomas’s name may inevitably come up in trade rumors, which, quite frankly, seem outlandish.

That said, one of the first to kick off the rumor mill is Albert Breer. Now, Breer didn’t report that Thomas is on the block, but he did note that the Saints are tight on cap and that Thomas may have other cultural fits around the league.

"“He’s tough, he’s competitive, he’s a little bit of a weird personality. But I certainly think if you wanted to solve your issue of not having a No. 1 receiver once and for all, I think Michael Thomas, stylistically as a receiver, is exactly what the Patriots would be looking for,” Breer said on Arbella Early Edition via NBC Sports."

As noted, Thomas didn’t have the best 2020. While it would’ve been difficult to do better than his 2019 season, Thomas didn’t just relapse a bit, but it seemed like a full-out fall out for the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year.

Thomas played in nine fewer games and had over 100 fewer receptions. He had over 1,250 fewer yards in 2020 as well.

While his injuries can be partly to blame, the injuries to Drew Brees and the insertion of Taysom Hill as the starting quarterback and not Jameis Winston can also partially be reasons why Thomas didn’t play overly well even while on the field.

Even that struggle doesn’t mean that the Saints are going to even consider trading who they likely consider the best wide receiver in the league. Thomas had a historic 2019 campaign, and he showed just what he’s capable of.

With a full offseason to recovery, the chance that Thomas is traded is slim to none, but the chance that some talk of him being potentially traded is rather high.