Saints WR Michael Thomas Will Hold Out Until New Deal

According to Ian Rapoport, Saints WR Michael Thomas has not reported with the team to training camp. 

The Saints and Thomas are negotiating a new contract, and Rapoport says Thomas plans to stay away until the two sides can come to an agreement. 

The Saints first practice is not until Friday. 

New Orleans reportedly offered Thomas an extension worth between $18-$19 million a year. However, Thomas wants to be the first wide receiver paid $20 million per season. 

Thomas is one a few notable receivers in line for massive extension along with Julio Jones and Amari Cooper. 

Prior reports have said that the two parties would like to have a deal in place before the start of training camp, but it looks like that timeline could end up extending longer than they had hoped. 

Thomas is set to earn a base salary of $1.15 million in 2019. According to Over The Cap, Browns WR Odell Beckham is the NFL’s highest-paid receiver at $18 million per year.

Thomas, 26, was drafted by the Saints in the second round out of Ohio State in 2016. He’s entering the final year of a four-year, $5.118 million contract that included $3.055 million guaranteed.

In 2018, Thomas played in all 16 games for the Saints and caught 125 passes for 1405 yards and nine touchdowns. Pro Football Focus rated Thomas as their No. 2 receiver out of 117 qualifying players.  

We’ll have more regarding a new deal for Thomas as the news is available.