Will Michael Thomas suit up for the New Orleans Saints in Week 1’s season opener with the Atlanta Falcons? NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is so confident that Thomas is about to bounce back he’s added the wide receiver to his fantasy team, but Saints head coach Dennis Allen isn’t ready to put such a stamp on things just yet.
When asked for a status update on Thomas and his Week 1 availability, Allen took a more cautiously optimistic approach, saying “We’ll see, but he’s progressing. He looked good. We’re working him back in.” Thomas was limited on Wednesday’s initial injury report, which Allen described as “another positive step” after he was inactive for a few weeks resting a hamstring injury.
For his part, Thomas tells our own Ross Jackson that “I feel great” and suiting up with his teammates on Sunday is “the goal.” He just needs to continue progressing further in practice to meet that objective. Hamstring injuries can only really be healed by rest, and ramping things up too quickly could cause it to flare up again. Annoying as it is, patience is the name of the game here.
It’s been a long time coming. Thomas missed most of the last two years with a complex ankle injury that didn’t respond well to surgery late last summer. It’s been frustrating for him, the team, and their fans, but it’s looking like that is all behind him. Once Thomas is given the green light to fully participate, coming off of this new hamstring issue, he should reassert himself on top of the Saints depth chart at wide receiver.
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