It would be surprising to see Michael Thomas and Sean Payton wearing the same team’s colors again, but you never know. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell made the case for the former New Orleans Saints wide receiver to work with the ex-Saints head coach, saying that the Denver Broncos could be a perfect fit for Thomas as he searches for a new team.
“Denver’s roster is in flux as it rebuilds post-Russell Wilson,” Barnwell wrote, “but after trading Jerry Jeudy, it looks like it will run with Courtland Sutton and Marvin Mims as its top two wideouts. Tim Patrick took a pay cut to return, but he has missed each of the last two seasons with injuries. Thomas could reunite with former coach Sean Payton and compete with Patrick for that third wideout role.”
From a pure personnel perspective, it makes sense. The Broncos need a receiver. Thomas is a receiver. That’s a match, right?
Not so fast. Thomas’ relationship with Payton fractured over the years, with Thomas blaming Payton for the ankle injury that started his long-lasting medical issues; Thomas was asked to go out and block late in a blowout win, and to return quickly in order to help Drew Brees in the last year of his career. Thomas was set to leave the Saints after Payton stepped down from his post until Dennis Allen flew out to California to recruit him back to the team.
Payton also benched Thomas and fined him for fighting with a teammate in practice at one point, and there had been other pressures building behind the scenes. So it would be surprising to see the two of them together again. Still, if Thomas isn’t seeing many offers in free agency, this isn’t a possibility we should rule out.
