Thomas to be cleared early in camp?

"There's some optimism that [Saints WR Michael Thomas] will be cleared at some point early in camp and begin to look like the Michael Thomas of old," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's an optimistic but measured report on a guy who been dealing with ankle issues for nearly 2 years now. Thomas remains a risky pick until we see him back on the field at something close to 100%. But that risk is also baked into his recent WR37 ADP in FFPC drafts.

WR Michael Thomas will not be back with the Saints in 2024. The New Orleans Times Picayune's Jeff Duncan wrote on Thursday that Thomas will be released. Thomas fired back on social media that he signed just a one-year deal with New Orleans last offseason and is simply becoming a free agent. ESPN's Kat Terrell reports that Thomas’ contract allows the team to either rework it or release him this offseason. Regardless of the details, Thomas will be playing for a team other than the Saints this season for the first time in his career. Injuries have limited him to just 20 games over the last four years. He averaged 4.2 catches and 49 yards over the first nine games of 2023 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Thomas turned 31 earlier this month. We'll see how much interest he draws on the open market and where he ultimately lands. Thomas no longer possesses an exciting fantasy ceiling, but we're not totally ruling out the possibility of him helping fantasy teams as a depth piece.

The Saints placed WR Michael Thomas on IR with his knee injury. He's out for at least the next four games, which makes Week 16 his earliest possible return date. Thomas would be tough to trust in fantasy lineups at that point. He can be dropped from redraft rosters. His absence should leave WRs Rashid Shaheed and rookie A.T. Perry in full-time roles. See where those guys sit in the Week 12 WR rankings.

Saints HC Dennis Allen said Monday that WR Michael Thomas (knee) will miss some time. Allen wouldn’t share if Thomas will land on injured reserve. Through 10 games, the career-long Saint has racked up 39 catches, 448 yards, and 1 score. Thomas can be dropped in shallow to standard-sized formats, but he’s worth holding elsewhere in case he only misses a game or two. From Week 13 on, New Orleans’ WR strength of schedule looks slightly positive. Rashid Shaheed figures to benefit most while Thomas is out.

Saints HC Dennis Allen called WR Michael Thomas' knee injury "fairly significant." He added that the injury isn't believed to be season-ending but that Thomas is getting a second opinion. The Saints have a Week 11 bye, but it sounds like we should expect Thomas to miss multiple games beyond that. He's droppable in most redraft fantasy leagues. Rookie WR A.T. Perry replaced Thomas in the Week 11 loss to the Vikings, catching two of four targets for 38 yards and a score. He's worth a look on the waiver wire in deep leagues. WRs Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed should also pick up more work with Thomas out.

Saints WR Michael Thomas hurt his knee in the first quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Vikings. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update his status when we know more.

Update: Thomas has been ruled out.