Meanwhile in other camps...

[Khyber53]

It's all imaginary money. Ask the Saints.

[CRA]

7 minutes ago, t96 said:

They had him under team control for 2 more years. Make him prove himself again this year, the price wasn’t going to go up much if at all... I’d agree if he was a pending FA or had 1 year left and was forcing a contract but that wasn’t the case. This could easily turn into a massive disaster if we find out that last year was an outlier, which is entirely possible.

they won 10 games the year before.  I don't think it was an outlier.  I think they gave him a top tier WR to work with. 

[Mother Grabber]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

Holy sh-t!

[Peppers90 NC]

38 minutes ago, t96 said:

They had him under team control for 2 more years. Make him prove himself again this year, the price wasn’t going to go up much if at all... I’d agree if he was a pending FA or had 1 year left and was forcing a contract but that wasn’t the case. This could easily turn into a massive disaster if we find out that last year was an outlier, which is entirely possible.

Pay him before Lamar gets his contract, because they know that will have to out pay that one.

[AU-panther]

1 hour ago, t96 said:

They had him under team control for 2 more years. Make him prove himself again this year, the price wasn’t going to go up much if at all... I’d agree if he was a pending FA or had 1 year left and was forcing a contract but that wasn’t the case. This could easily turn into a massive disaster if we find out that last year was an outlier, which is entirely possible.

I get what you are saying about proving himself again but the idea that the price wouldn’t go up might not be true.  Both Lamar and Baker have deals yet to sign. Not to mention any increase in the cap in future years.

 

[Jon Snow]

That's a lot of cheddar.  Certainly resets the QB market.

[jasonluckydog]

I heard my balls hurt today any word on that Mr. Sc? 

[Varking]

8 hours ago, jasonluckydog said:

I heard my balls hurt today any word on that Mr. Sc? 

Its been 8 hours. You ok?

[Icege]

Interesting structure. The final two seasons for $81.5M total not being guaranteed gives the Bills freedom to negotiate in 2025 and if no dice, they can cut or roll with him for another season while searching for a replacement.

Wondering if Beane is thinking Allen will run into health issues like Cam did. 

[Captain Morgan]

an article making slant boy look bad while praising the Saints organization.  

 

https://www.nola.com/sports/article_3a4eb1ec-f785-11eb-85ea-1fb31b4bf87c.html  

 

 "Because the personnel grouping doesn’t happen if the Saints star wide receiver had taken care of his business this summer.

By now, you know that Thomas is sidelined indefinitely while recovering from ankle surgery in June.

What you might not know is what led to this odd, unfortunate situation.

How did something this important slip through the cracks of an offseason?

Why did months go by without the team’s best receiver addressing the ankle he injured last season?

The answer is complicated. But in the end, the blame falls squarely on Thomas. Plain and simple, the most talented receiver in Saints history dropped the ball.  Here’s how it went down, according to multiple people familiar with the situation:

After the 2020 season, the Saints medical staff examined Thomas’ injured left ankle and advised him to undergo surgery to repair ligament damage in the joint.

Thomas, though, wanted a second opinion, a common step in such high-profile cases. The second doctor suggested a conservative approach that would allow the injury to heal on its own through rehab and therapy.

In March, Thomas elected to take the conservative approach and bypass surgery, a decision the Saints supported. A rehabilitation plan was collectively agreed upon, and Thomas was given progressive benchmarks to hit over the next three months of his recovery while training at his offseason home in California.

This is where things inexplicably went awry.

For unknown reasons, Thomas fell out of communication with the Saints. He did not return multiple calls over the next three months. Then-Saints trainer Beau Lowery, wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson and head coach Sean Payton all tried to reach Thomas. None of their calls were taken or returned.

When Thomas returned to the team in June, it was discovered that his ankle was still not right, and he was forced to undergo surgery to repair the damaged ligaments in the joint. The 10-to-12-week rehabilitation is expected to sideline him for the start of the regular season.

The loss of Thomas created a domino effect on the Saints roster. To bolster the wide receiver corps, the Saints signed Hogan and moved Montgomery to receiver from his running back spot. They then signed veteran running back Devonta Freeman to replace Montgomery in the backfield.

All of this roster shuffling could have and should have been avoided, if Thomas had just followed the plan set forth earlier in the offseason.

Whether Thomas was being obstinate, negligent or both is irrelevant. One Saints source said Thomas simply thought his ankle was doing fine and that he was on track in his recovery. Regardless, his decision to ghost his superiors was inexplicable and unacceptable. Quite frankly, he’s fortunate the team didn’t fine him for insubordination.

If this were an isolated incident it would be easier to dismiss. But this was Thomas’ second transgression in the past year, following his one-game suspension for a practice fight with teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Payton in October.

The fight was one thing. Players can snap in emotional, highly competitive environments. It happens.

But this was something altogether different, a pattern of behavior over an extended period of time. Clearly it never should have reached the point it did, and now the Saints – and Thomas -- must deal with the consequences.

“It’s disappointing,” Payton said last week when asked about the situation. “We would have liked (the surgery) to have happened earlier rather than later. And quite honestly, it should have.”

Payton has a good relationship with Thomas, but the star receiver has tested the patience of his head coach with this latest mistake.

By all accounts, Thomas has been a good soldier since the incident and is on the road to recovery. And the Saints remain high on their young receiver corps, in particular Marquez Calloway, who has been the breakout star of training camp. There’s a belief inside the building that the offense will be just fine without Thomas. Time will tell.

It’s certainly not the way you want to start your first training camp of the post-Drew Brees era.

These kinds of things just don’t happen to the Saints. Communication has always been an organizational strength, especially in the football operation.

When the Saints thought they might be in position to select Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, Payton made sure Brees was apprised of the situation before the Saints got on the clock. He did not want his franchise quarterback to be surprised if the Saints pulled the trigger on a quarterback in Round 1.

“From Day One, Sean tells the players, we’re going to treat you like men, and we’re going to treat you that way until you give us a reason not to,” said Zach Strief, the Saints’ assistant offensive line coach, who played for the Saints from 2006 to 2017. “That honesty permeates the building. Even outside the building, the perception is that the Saints take care of their guys.”

Hopefully, Thomas starts to understand and appreciate the situation he has in New Orleans. Because if he doesn’t, he won’t be in the building much longer."

 

 

much more at the link, which is behind a paywall.   Saints fans are pretty mad at their best player, especially that he pulled all this after getting paid.

eta, a quote from a Saints fan

"Finding exceptional Wideouts that don’t come with ego baggage is like hitting powerball. "

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Captain Morgan

[Jon Snow]

2 hours ago, Captain Morgan said:

an article making slant boy look bad while praising the Saints organization.  

 

https://www.nola.com/sports/article_3a4eb1ec-f785-11eb-85ea-1fb31b4bf87c.html  

 

 "Because the personnel grouping doesn’t happen if the Saints star wide receiver had taken care of his business this summer.

By now, you know that Thomas is sidelined indefinitely while recovering from ankle surgery in June.

What you might not know is what led to this odd, unfortunate situation.

How did something this important slip through the cracks of an offseason?

Why did months go by without the team’s best receiver addressing the ankle he injured last season?

The answer is complicated. But in the end, the blame falls squarely on Thomas. Plain and simple, the most talented receiver in Saints history dropped the ball.  Here’s how it went down, according to multiple people familiar with the situation:

After the 2020 season, the Saints medical staff examined Thomas’ injured left ankle and advised him to undergo surgery to repair ligament damage in the joint.

Thomas, though, wanted a second opinion, a common step in such high-profile cases. The second doctor suggested a conservative approach that would allow the injury to heal on its own through rehab and therapy.

In March, Thomas elected to take the conservative approach and bypass surgery, a decision the Saints supported. A rehabilitation plan was collectively agreed upon, and Thomas was given progressive benchmarks to hit over the next three months of his recovery while training at his offseason home in California.

This is where things inexplicably went awry.

For unknown reasons, Thomas fell out of communication with the Saints. He did not return multiple calls over the next three months. Then-Saints trainer Beau Lowery, wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson and head coach Sean Payton all tried to reach Thomas. None of their calls were taken or returned.

When Thomas returned to the team in June, it was discovered that his ankle was still not right, and he was forced to undergo surgery to repair the damaged ligaments in the joint. The 10-to-12-week rehabilitation is expected to sideline him for the start of the regular season.

The loss of Thomas created a domino effect on the Saints roster. To bolster the wide receiver corps, the Saints signed Hogan and moved Montgomery to receiver from his running back spot. They then signed veteran running back Devonta Freeman to replace Montgomery in the backfield.

All of this roster shuffling could have and should have been avoided, if Thomas had just followed the plan set forth earlier in the offseason.

Whether Thomas was being obstinate, negligent or both is irrelevant. One Saints source said Thomas simply thought his ankle was doing fine and that he was on track in his recovery. Regardless, his decision to ghost his superiors was inexplicable and unacceptable. Quite frankly, he’s fortunate the team didn’t fine him for insubordination.

If this were an isolated incident it would be easier to dismiss. But this was Thomas’ second transgression in the past year, following his one-game suspension for a practice fight with teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Payton in October.

The fight was one thing. Players can snap in emotional, highly competitive environments. It happens.

But this was something altogether different, a pattern of behavior over an extended period of time. Clearly it never should have reached the point it did, and now the Saints – and Thomas -- must deal with the consequences.

“It’s disappointing,” Payton said last week when asked about the situation. “We would have liked (the surgery) to have happened earlier rather than later. And quite honestly, it should have.”

Payton has a good relationship with Thomas, but the star receiver has tested the patience of his head coach with this latest mistake.

By all accounts, Thomas has been a good soldier since the incident and is on the road to recovery. And the Saints remain high on their young receiver corps, in particular Marquez Calloway, who has been the breakout star of training camp. There’s a belief inside the building that the offense will be just fine without Thomas. Time will tell.

It’s certainly not the way you want to start your first training camp of the post-Drew Brees era.

These kinds of things just don’t happen to the Saints. Communication has always been an organizational strength, especially in the football operation.

When the Saints thought they might be in position to select Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, Payton made sure Brees was apprised of the situation before the Saints got on the clock. He did not want his franchise quarterback to be surprised if the Saints pulled the trigger on a quarterback in Round 1.

“From Day One, Sean tells the players, we’re going to treat you like men, and we’re going to treat you that way until you give us a reason not to,” said Zach Strief, the Saints’ assistant offensive line coach, who played for the Saints from 2006 to 2017. “That honesty permeates the building. Even outside the building, the perception is that the Saints take care of their guys.”

Hopefully, Thomas starts to understand and appreciate the situation he has in New Orleans. Because if he doesn’t, he won’t be in the building much longer."

 

 

much more at the link, which is behind a paywall.   Saints fans are pretty mad at their best player, especially that he pulled all this after getting paid.

eta, a quote from a Saints fan

"Finding exceptional Wideouts that don’t come with ego baggage is like hitting powerball. "

 

Makes it even sweeter that we snatched Marshall before they could.  

[Mr. Scot]

To those hoping for Xavien Howard...

 

[mrcompletely11]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

To those hoping for Xavien Howard...

 

We all knew this was going to happen.  He is crucial for that defense

[LinvilleGorge]

sizzle is gonna be devastated that a player flexed and got what he wanted