1. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints
During the 2020 season, the New Orleans Saints apparently started to have some issues with wide receiver Michael Thomas. Their No. 1 wideout was involved in a fight with teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson which resulted in a fine.
However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said that there was more going on behind the scenes and the fight was only part of the problem, citing Jeff Duncan of The Athletic saying that his conduct was detrimental to the team.
"“Duncan reports that the suspension ‘had less to do’ with the fight than it did his conduct after the fight. He reportedly ‘talked back’ to coaches (including the head coach) and ‘obstinately refused counsel’ after the incident. It was the insubordination demonstrated by Thomas that resulted in his suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.” — Florio, Pro Football Talk"
Eventually, things seemed to work themselves out but the Saints are now heading into a huge transition. With Drew Brees retiring, they’ll either be turning things over to Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill — and either one of them will be a major step back from Brees.
That could be problematic for Thomas as he goes from a Hall of Fame quarterback to either a gadget fullback/tight end/special team’s gunner or a former No. 1 overall pick who threw 30 picks the last time he was a starter.
With Thomas already having problems behind the scenes, things could get ugly if the transition doesn’t go smoothly and that could end up leading to the two sides deciding to part ways.