Michael Thomas is done for the season, now what?
Well, after missing all of 2021 due to an injury, Michael Thomas returned for just three games this season before landing on the injury report. Five weeks after his last appearance, it's been announced that he'll be going on IR and it's unlikely that Thomas plays again in 2022.
Dennis Allen spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of the New Orleans Saints' Monday night game against the Ravens and revealed that Thomas is headed to IR and won't play again.
Saints will place WR Michael Thomas on injured reserve and he will have surgery on his toe, according to coach Dennis Allen, who said he doesn’t know the exact timetable but doesn’t anticipate that Thomas will return this year. Was a dislocated second toe.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) November 3, 2022
Allen noted that Thomas had a second dislocated toe and noted that this situation was entirely out of anyone's control.
“There’s just some things that you don’t have any control over and this is one of those things.”
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) November 3, 2022
Michael Thomas won't play again in 2022
Saints fans had an uneasy feeling about Thomas once he missed several games and now we know why that is. For the third straight year, Thomas hasn't made a major impact for the offense and that's unfortunate after he signed a five-year extension in 2019 that paid him $96 million.
Thomas was great in 2019 but he's not that guy anymore. Injuries have sadly taken their toll on him and it's been sad to watch.
With Thomas out of the picture for the rest of the season, however, the Saints now need to officially turn to what the game plan is for them on offense moving forward. They've been more efficient on offense since Andy Dalton took over as the starting quarterback and Chris Olave has been a star at the wide receiver spot.
New Orleans leaned heavily on Alvin Kamara in their 24-0 win over the Raiders and that's likely what we'll see from them moving forward. Feed Kamara, get Taysom Hill involved, and continue to send the ball Olave's way and this offense should continue to be good moving forward, especially if and when Jarvis Landry is able to return.
As for depth at wide receiver, Rasheed Shahid has been a fun story this year and the team would be wise to continue to get him carries and targets as well. Marquez Callaway and Tre'Quan Smith are also healthy and can be decent weapons for Dalton to look out for too.
The Saints made it all the way through the 2021 season without Thomas and their offense was in rough shape because of their lack of weapons without him. They're not in the same boat now. Sure, the injury stings, but this offense can move the ball without Michael Thomas.
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Here's to hoping the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year recovers well and can help this team compete in 2023.