METAIRIE, La. – Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints recipient, is likely to undergo surgeries on the torn deltoid and other injured ligaments in his ankle that plague him throughout the season, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter Tuesday.
Thomas first suffered a high ankle injury in the last minutes of week 1 and missed a total of nine games in the regular season. But the source said he knew it was likely Drew Brees’ final season and he didn’t want to miss the attempt to win a Super Bowl with him.
Thomas often didn’t exercise all week, but played in games nonetheless, at much less than 100% and with painkillers, the source said. The coaches told him that no matter how injured he was, they were much better off with him than without him.
Thomas went on injured reserve from weeks 15-17 to try to get as healthy as possible for the play-offs. He returned with five catches for 73 yards and his first touchdown of the season in the wildcard playoff win over the Chicago Bears. However, he had zero catches on four goals in the divisional round playoff loss against Tampa Bay – including a near touchdown that kept his knee out of reach.
Thomas also missed weeks 2-8 after first getting the injury, and then he was disciplined for one game for a practice match where he hit teammate CJ Gardner-Johnson and then suffered a hamstring injury during his recovery.
He finished the regular season with 40 catches for 438 yards and zero touchdowns in seven games – just one season after setting the NFL record with 149 catches in 2019. However, he did have two games with nine catches and over Received 100 yards during Taysom Hill’s four-game stint with QB, while Brees was sidelined due to his own injuries.
Thomas’ 510 career receipts are the most by a player in the first five seasons of his NFL career.