5 surprise players who could be dealt at NFL trade deadline

4. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

Another player who has seen his name on the rumor mill in regard to trades quite often is Michael Thomas. The New Orleans Saints wideout was once considered among the top players at his position and even earned a five-year, $100 million extension with New Orleans back in 2019.

He then went out and had the best season of his career, hauling in 149 receptions for 1,725 yards, and nine touchdowns. Unfortunately, he’s not even come close to those numbers since then. In fact, his totals over the past two-plus years haven’t even equated to half the production he had in 2019. And injuries are the main reason for that.

Thomas managed to play in just seven games in 2020 and had 40 receptions for 438 yards but was held without a touchdown. He then missed the entire 2021 campaign before starting out strong with 16 catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns in the first three weeks of the 2022 campaign.

Sadly, injuries struck again as he hasn’t suited up since Week 3. New Orleans has recently fallen to 2-5 and while the NFC South is awful, they’re likely to still be willing to listen to offers. And if Thomas can get healthy enough to pass a physical, he would make a lot of sense as a trade piece.

It would be risky for any team to bring him in but his upside could be enough to convince one that feels like they’re a pass-catcher away from winning it all to roll the dice. Of course, the injury concerns still loom large which is why this one would be a surprise.