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Despite a tough few weeks of speculation that the New Orleans Saints and star player Michael Thomas may be heading for a trade, sources told Yahoo Sports that the Broad and Saints head coach Sean Payton, had had positive discussions and did not seek to go their separate ways.
Two sources familiar with the talks said Payton and Thomas had a recent meeting to clear the air on two lingering issues: Payton’s comments about his frustration with the timing of Thomas’ ankle surgery offseason; and a subsequent social media post from Thomas suggesting the gap is now at odds with the team.
“They spoke well of [the issues]said a source. was the purpose of the meeting.
A second source added from the meeting: “I think and hope they worked [things] outside.”
Jeff Duncan of Nola.com reported over the weekend that Thomas had not returned calls to the team over the summer regarding his ankle rehabilitation and potential options for medical procedures based on his progress. The report follows comments Payton made late last month about Thomas’ ankle surgery, which is expected to keep him on the sidelines for the start of the season.
“Obviously, we would have liked [surgery] happened sooner than later – and quite frankly it should have, ”Payton told the Saints media on July 28, as training camp opened with Thomas on the sidelines.
Despite the frustration, a resolution keeping Thomas in New Orleans makes sense for both sides, especially as Thomas’ prolonged rehabilitation obscures his commercial value. Not to mention the large cap the Saints would absorb if traded. Three general managers who spoke to Yahoo Sports about Thomas’ value in the market said his business would be significantly affected by a difficult 12 months of injuries and red flags which included a fight and a team suspension at one point in the week. last season.
A general manager suggested that if Thomas was in full health today, his value would likely be in the range of a set of first and third round picks. But two others suggested that Thomas’ worth would be significantly diminished by the combination of his contract, suspension, social media drama, and injury rehab – resulting in a set of second and third round picks, or a kind of production protection linked to very first-rounding in the packaging.
“It would make more sense to just ride, at least until he’s back on the pitch,” said a general manager. “If it doesn’t work after that, at least you know [as a potential trade suitor] what he can do in the field. This eliminates some of the risk of an assessment.
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