Sept. 25 (UPI) — New Orleans Saints star wide receiver Michael Thomas won’t play in Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers because of an ankle injury.
Thomas was ruled out for the second consecutive week with his high ankle sprain, according to the team’s official injury report released Friday. He hasn’t practiced since suffering the injury during the closing minutes of the Saints’ Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, the Saints decided not to put him on injured reserve, which would have forced him to miss at least three games. The team is hopeful that he can potentially return as soon as next week.
In the absence of Thomas, the Saints’ offense struggled in Monday night’s 34-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Brees completed 26 of 38 throws for 312 yards with one touchdown and one interception but rarely attempted any downfield passes in that matchup.
“Obviously with the loss of Mike Thomas last week, we’re having to fit some guys in new roles, get some guys some significant playing time, maybe in different situations that they haven’t been in before,” Brees said earlier this week. “I think there definitely is that element of just getting everybody on the same page, everybody in sync.
“I’m confident with the guys that we have, with the system that we have and everything that we’re going to be able to get back on track.”
Thomas caught three passes for 17 yards on five targets in the Saints’ Week 1 contest. He won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award last season after recording a league-record 149 catches.