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Somehow, the New Orleans Saints have remained one of the NFL’s best scoring offenses despite a revolving door of options at wide receiver. Sean Payton’s squad ranks fifth in points scored per game (29.9) and ninth in yards gained per play (5.8) as well as sixth-best on both third down (converting 44.8% of their attempts) and inside the red zone (scoring on 71.4% of plays they’ve run inside the opposing 20-yard line).
You could even say they’ve done all that without their best player, Michael Thomas — the reigning Offensive Player of the Year — and with Drew Brees sidelined for most of a month by injuries. And Payton is eager to see his offense fully tooled up, healthy, and ready to make another statement after routing the Minnesota Vikings 52-33 on Christmas Day.
“When the time comes, hopefully it’s sooner than later, there’s a handful of players that we’re excited to get back in this lineup,” Payton said on WWL Radio, via Amie Just of Nola.com. Payton added that these are Pro Bowl, All-Pro quality players on their way back: meaning wide receivers Michael Thomas and Deonte Harris.
Thomas has been dealing with unexpected, lingering issues from his Week 1 high-ankle sprain all year long, and the decision to put him on ice was made after reality set in. The Saints couldn’t have their cake and eat it, too; Thomas couldn’t recover while still playing banged up. The only way he’d get back to full strength would be with rest. And Harris was slow to return from a late-season neck injury, though he did make some progress in practice before New Orleans forced him to heal up.
Their return would mean a lot for a position group that’s been downright decapitated by injuries. Of the five wide receivers who opened the season on the 53-man roster, only two remain: Emmanuel Sanders, who missed two games on COVID-19 reserve, and rookie Marquez Callaway, who came back just last week from injured reserve.
Thomas, Harris, Tre’Quan Smith, and Bennie Fowler are all on that same injured reserve list, meaning the Saints have been combing the waiver wire and free agent pool to add reserves like Jake Kumerow and Jake Lampman just to pad out minutes in practice. It’s not exactly the supporting cast New Orleans hoped to send Drew Brees into the postseason with, but help is on the way.
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