Football season is on the horizon, and soon both college an professional athletes will be back on the gridiron trying to help their team win. For the New Orleans Saints, life will look a little different without Future Hall of Famer Drew Brees under center, as Brees opted for retirement during the offseason. But according to a recent report, Brees won’t be the only familiar face the Saints will be without to start the season.
Multiple sources have reported that the Saints will likely be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Thomas to begin the year, as the star wide receiver is recovering from a recent ankle surgery. Dr. Silverman takes a closer look at the operation and Thomas’ return timeline so that you can make a smart decision when it comes time to have your annual fantasy football draft.
Michael Thomas Surgery Recovery
There are a number of reports and suggestions, but some things have yet to be officially confirmed, so we need to speculate a little bit on our end as well. What we do know is that Thomas underwent surgery to address injured ankle ligaments in June. The report also suggested the surgery and his recovery could lead him to be off the field for the next four months. Depending on when in June the operation took place, that means Thomas is likely out until around early to mid October.
Now, let’s look at the Saints’ schedule. The Saints have a bye in Week 6, which falls on October 17. It seems likely that the team would hold him out until their game on October 25th instead of rushing him back on October 10th ahead of the bye. Things could obviously change for the good or the bad, but just looking at the schedule and guessing at a timeline, a Week 7 return for a Monday night game against the Seahawks seems to make sense. So if you’re thinking about drafting Michael Thomas, know that he’ll likely miss the first five games of the Saints’ season and the first six of your fantasy season.
What Did Surgery Fix?
Earlier this year, it was reported that Thomas was going to need offseason surgery to address an injury to the deltoid ligament in the ankle, and to have a tightrope procedure performed to fix his high ankle ligaments. If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you may remember that we’ve already taken a closer look at the tightrope procedure when we analyzed whether it would allow Tua Tagovailoa to return ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The tightrope procedure involves the insertion of a high-strength suture through small holes in the bone that is then fastened with small metal buttons. The suture is tightened like a zip tie, which provides immense stability to the region. The whole procedure can be competed in about 25 minutes. Tagovailoa was able to return to the field in only four weeks following his tightrope procedure, but Thomas had additional work done on his deltoid ligament, so he won’t be able to return that quickly. Deltoid ligament injuries are rare, and given all the stability it provides your ankle, it’s imperative that Thomas ensures the ligament is fully healthy before he gets back on the field, because re-aggravation could jeopardize his entire season.
With a new quarterback under center and a decent likelihood that he’ll miss about 6 weeks, Thomas is considered a medium risk, medium reward candidate. If you can stash him on injured reserve he may be worth a mid-round flyer, but don’t expect to get the standard production or the standard number of games played that we’ve seen in the past (outside of last year when he was felled by the ankle injury).
Here’s hoping he can fully recover and return to 2019 form.
