Saints coach Dennis Allen says he doesn’t expect Michael Thomas or Marshon Lattimore to return this week against the Buccaneers:
Help isn’t on the way ahead of the New Orleans Saints’ most important game of the year. Head coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday that he doesn’t expect wide receiver Michael Thomas or cornerback Marshon Lattimore to return from injured reserve for Sunday’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Both players went on injured reserve after the Saints’ Week 10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings; a helmet to the knee sidelined Thomas, while Lattimore’s ankle was injured when a teammate rolled up on him while making a tackle. So they’re both going to miss at least six games this season after missing most of last year with unrelated injuries.
Will the third time be the charm in 2024? The team must make a decision on Thomas, choosing to either extend his contract again or release him, but Lattimore’s contract makes it tough to move on from him. Paulson Adebo has played really well in his absence and there are some young promising players at receiver like A.T. Perry who could use more reps. We’ll see how things work out in the spring, but for now the Saints need to figure out ways to win without some of their best players.
Olave has gone on a tear in recent weeks with receiving totals of 119, 114, and 94 yards in his last three games, and the Saints need him on top of the depth chart with Michael Thomas on injured reserve while Rashid Shaheed deals with a thigh injury.
And it sounds like that’ll be the case on Sunday. Other receivers on the depth chart include A.T. Perry, Lynn Bowden Jr., and Keith Kirkwood with Marquez Callaway, Jontre Kirklin, and Shaquan Davis on the practice squad.
Rookie wide receiver Shaquan Davis has been activated from the New Orleans Saints injured/practice squad list:
This is good to see: the New Orleans Saints announced that rookie wide receiver Shaquan Davis has been activated from the practice squad injury list, taking a vacancy created by the release of safety Daniel Sorensen earlier this week.
Davis signed with the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State and quickly won over the fanbase with some big catches in preseason. He has rare size at a listed 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds.
Injuries have been stacking up at receiver for New Orleans, so there’s a chance Davis could hear his number called soon. Michael Thomas is on injured reserve with a knee injury and a thigh issue has sidelined Rashid Shaheed in recent weeks. Chris Olave didn’t practice Thursday while dealing with an illness.
Other receivers available this week include rookie sixth-round pick A.T. Perry, veterans Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keith Kirkwood, with backups Marquez Callaway and Jontre Kirklin on the practice squad. Stay tuned for game status updates after Friday’s practice session.
Derek Carr had a wide-open receiver but threw into tight coverage instead, leading to an interception on the opening drive. Saints fans weren’t happy:
Yikes. The New Orleans Saints offense took the field on Sunday facing a 7-0 deficit against the Detroit Lions, and their first play from scrimmage had Derek Carr dropping back to pass — and that’s where things took an ugly turn.
Carr missed a wide-open A.T. Perry on the left side of the field and chose to check down to tight end Juwan Johnson in tight coverage, which was a dangerous decision. And it proved to be costly. The pass deflected off of Johnson’s hands and into the mitts of Lions safety Brian Branch, who intercepted it to set the Detroit offense up in prime field position.
Johnson should have caught that ball. But Carr shouldn’t have thrown it in the first place when he had a safer option open for a bigger gain downfield. And everyone saw it: Saints fans, local media, and observers on social media:
The New Orleans Saints brought up some reinforcements from their practice squad for Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions in a pair of standard elevations:
The New Orleans Saints brought up some reinforcements from their practice squad for Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions in a pair of standard elevations, giving wide receiver Marquez Callaway and fullback Adam Prentice an opportunity to return to the lineup.
Callaway was recently re-signed after a knee injury put Michael Thomas out of action for at least the next four games. He’s experienced in the system, having started his pro career in New Orleans, though he spent the summer with Sean Payton on the Denver Broncos.
As for Prentice: the fullback spent some time on injured reserve earlier this season and returned to be bumped down to the practice squad. He’s already been elevated once so the Saints can call him up like this one more time before they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster again if they want to continue playing him. As is the case for Callaway, Prentice will revert to the practice squad after Sunday’s game with the Lions.
It all starts with scoring more touchdowns. Breaking down four keys to a New Orleans Saints victory on offense against the Detroit Lions:
What can the New Orleans Saints offense do to secure a win over the Detroit Lions in Week 13? What schematic decisions and points of emphasis will make a difference? Which vulnerabilities in the Detroit defense can they exploit?
Scoring more touchdowns would help.
Really, though: Derek Carr’s deficiencies in the red zone and inside the 10-yard line have been pronounced in recent weeks, and figuring out why he’s struggling so badly can make a difference on Sunday. But there are 80 yards to cover before the Saints can get in scoring position. With that in mind, here are four keys to victory we’re looking for from the New Orleans offense:
As it pertains to the sleepers, the options aren’t as plentiful as they would be in a typical week. But that’s not going to stop us from trying to find some diamonds in the rough as managers look to make the final push for the playoffs.
The New Orleans Saints could be without all three of their top wide receivers in Week 13’s home game with the Detroit Lions:
An already shorthanded New Orleans Saints receiving corps could be running even more thin during Week 13’s game with the Detroit Lions. With Michael Thomas out of action on injured reserve with a knee injury, the Saints planned to lean heavier on second-year pros Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed — but they both went down with injuries of their own in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Olave suffered a concussion after slamming his head to the turf in an awkward fall, having adjusted to an underthrown pass from Derek Carr deep down the sideline. Most players in the concussion protocol this season have had to miss about two weeks before being cleared to return to the field, so it’s unlikely Olave will be cleared in time to play next Sunday. This is his second concussion in his first two years with the Saints.
Shaheed was hurt a thigh muscle on the first play of the Falcons game, and he initially tried to play through it. But adjusting to more off-target passes from Carr aggravated his injury and he was shut down by halftime. Saints coach Dennis Allen said Monday that while Shaheed avoided a major, season-ending injury it would be tough for him to play this week. We’ll have to see how his availability looks moving forwards.
If those two (plus Thomas) can’t go on Sunday, the Saints will be relying on rookie draft pick A.T. Perry, veterans Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keith Kirkwood, and practice squad receivers Marquez Callaway and Jontre Kirklin to lead the way. The Lions have a vulnerable pass defense, but the Saints might not have enough weapons to take advantage of it.
Thanksgiving is a great time of the year, an occasion that hopefully most of you could reconnect with people from your past and mix them with others from your present. Hopefully, it offered a chance to ponder and discuss commonalities and not differences. And regardless, it is a day to give thanks and appreciate what I hope are the positives in your life.
In that vein, and with fantasy roster improvement in mind, here are the players that, through Week 11, have produced more than one “big game.” It’s not hard to create an average starting lineup, but you need those players to twist the fantasy point spigot open and offer difference-making to your weekly score. As usual, these lists contain a few surprises and just as notable, some exclusions of players that should have been there. Performance scoring with reception points and showing players with more than one instance.
1.) Quarterbacks – Here are the quarterbacks that have turned in 30 points or more in a game. As they typically score more than any other position, these can make a difference for your team.
Quarterbacks
30 Pts
Dak Prescott
3
Jalen Hurts
3
Josh Allen
3
Lamar Jackson
3
Justin Fields
2
Justin Herbert
2
Kirk Cousins
2
Tua Tagovailoa
2
First off, where is Patrick Mahomes? What a telling absence. Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are no surprises, but Dak Prescott does exceptionally well when he faces a weak defense. Tua Tagovailoa has two, but that reflects that he really only does well in relation to the one receiver as we will see later. These were the game performances that likely won your week.
2.) Running Backs – The position has been devalued in recent years, so getting one of the high-scoring backs is still a major advantage.
Running Backs
25 Pts
Christian McCaffrey
3
Jahmyr Gibbs
3
Raheem Mostert
3
Alvin Kamara
2
Austin Ekeler
2
Brian Robinson Jr.
2
De’Von Achane
2
Kyren Williams
2
Saquon Barkley
2
As many points as David Montgomery produces, he wasn’t on this list and yet Jahmyr Gibbs was with three. That bodes very well for his future whenever he takes an even more prominent role. Raheem Mostert continues to defy all we thought for the first years of his career. Brian Robinson is a sign that the new offense under OC Eric Bieniemy is better than you think and headed in a positive direction.
3.) Wide Receivers – There are more of these on the field at one time than the other positions considered, and if you can own two or more of them, they can help sustain high weekly points from the position.
Wide Receivers
25 Pts
Tyreek Hill
7
CeeDee Lamb
4
Keenan Allen
4
A.J. Brown
3
Adam Thielen
3
Ja’Marr Chase
3
Justin Jefferson
3
Stefon Diggs
3
Tank Dell
3
Amon-Ra St. Brown
2
Brandon Aiyuk
2
DJ Moore
2
Mike Evans
2
Nico Collins
2
Puka Nacua
2
Well hello, Tyreek Hill. The most notable surprises are Adam Thielen, Tank Dell, and Puka Nacua. Where is Cooper Kupp? Davante Adams? Garrett Wilson? Want a sign that the Texans are on the right track? Both Tank Dell and Nico Collins are here as the only two from the same team. What are the Texans going to be like next year?
4.) Tight Ends – They score less than the other positions, and even less this year, so any difference-making tight ends are an advantage.
Tight Ends
20 Pts
George Kittle
4
T.J. Hockenson
3
Travis Kelce
3
Cole Kmet
2
Mark Andrews
2
Trey McBride
2
George Kittle is still a little inconsistent, but no arguing what he’s done when he has a big game. The notables here are Cole Kmet and Trey McBride. Kmet had double touchdowns with both Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent and yet several outright dud games. For any Arizona tight end to be on this list flies in the face of every Cardinal offense for a few decades. And he is only a second-year player.
5.) WR A.T. Perry (NO) – In the wake of Michael Thomas’ latest trip to IR, the Saints brought back Keith Kirkwood and Marques Callaway and the Saints prefer veteran receivers. Callaway was the replacement for Thomas in 2021 and had a career year with 46 catches for 698 yards and six touchdowns – his only notable season. But the Saints want to give the 6-4 sixth-round rookie Perry a shot as the replacement. He already had his first action last week with two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown at the Vikings. Thomas leaves behind 7 or 8 targets weekly. The Saints host the Lions this week and no other teams with a winning record are on their remaining schedule.
6.) QB Kenny Pickett (PIT) – Despite the winning record, the Steelers offense is abysmal and they rank No. 32 in fantasy points from their quarterbacks. They just fired OC Matt Canada and will rely on QB coach Mike Sullivan and RB coach Eddie Faulkner for the rest of the season. Many teams get a positive bounce from such a move and there is talent on the roster with George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, and Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers face the Bengals and Cardinals next, which should indicate if there are any changes that benefit the rest of the season.
About Thanksgiving…
Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Green Bay 29, Detroit 22
Hope you didn’t get to the game late. The Packers pulled away 23-6 at halftime looking exactly like we expected from the Lions. They missed Aaron Jones and Luke Musgrave landed on IR. But Jordan Love passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers. Christian Watson (5-94, TD), Jayden Reed (4-34, TD) and even Tucker Kraft (2-15, TD) took care of the scoring. AJ Dillon wasn’t much as the starting running back when he gained 43 yards on 14 rushes but he added three catches for 38 yards. The Green Bay offense threw well and made no mistakes. They rise to 5-6 and and host the Chiefs for another challenging matchup.
The Lions lost their seventh-straight Thanksgiving game, even though they were favored by seven points. Jared Goff threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns but lost three fumbles. Amon-Ra St. Brown (9-95) and Kalif Raymond (5-90) were the top receivers and Jameson Williams (2-51) caught a 38-yard pass. Sam LaPorta (5-47, TD) caught the only first-half score and the Lions should have been in this one more but gave up a touchdown on one of Goff’s fumbles. David Montgomery (15-71, TD) and Jahmyr Gibbs (11-54) ran effectively, and Gibbs added four receptions for 19 yards. This was a tough loss since it drops the 8-3 Lions behind in the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and even could give the Vikings an opening to challenge them. The Lions head to New Orleans for Week 13.
Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Washington 10, Dallas 45
This was the expected outcome when the Cowboys face the worst defense in the NFL. Sam Howell threw for 300 yards, but no scores and one interception. Curtis Samuel (9-100), Jahan Dotson (5-52), and Terry McLaurin (4-50) were the only receivers with more than 30 yards, Brian Robinson was limited to 53 yards on 15 carries while Antonio Gibson turned in 37 total yards. Both scores from the Commanders happened in the second quarter when they drew as close as 14-10 but they never reappeared after halftime. They drop to 4-8 and will make the Dolphins very happy next week.
Dak Prescott threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns, though the top receivers Brandin Cooks (4-72, TD) and CeeDee Lamb (4-53, TD) didn’t manage monster games. All the rest of the receivers were held to fewer than 36 yards. The run game was better than usual, though Tony Pollard (13-79, TD) only rushed 13 times in a game that the Cowboys always led. Rico Dowdle (3-11) caught a 15-yard touchdown but totaled just four touches. The lack of a rushing effort is perplexing for this supposedly conservative offense. The Cowboys rise to 8-3 and host the Seahawks this week.
Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco 31, Seattle 13
Yet another big win, only in this case the Seahawks were 6-3 just a week ago and yet had no answer for the 49ers defense. Geno Smith was held to 180 passing yards and an interception. Jaxon Njigba-Smith (2-41), DK Metcalf (3-32), and Tyler Lockett (3-20) all saw limited effectiveness and yet nearly all the targets. With Kenneth Walker out, Zach Charbonnet had the start and only gained 47 yards on 14 rushes with four catches for 11 yards. The Seahawks were entirely outclassed and outplayed. They never even scored on offense, their lone touchdown coming off a Brock Purdy pass that was deflected into a defenders hands for a 12-yards interception return. The Seahawks drop to 6-5 and head to Dallas.
The 49ers were in control for the entire game and never trailed. Brock Purdy passe for 209 yards and a 28-yard score to Brandon Aiyuk (2-50) in the fourth quarter. Christian McCaffrey was the star of the game with 114 yards on 19 carries and five receptions for 25 yards with two rushing touchdowns. Deebo Samuel ran for a two-yard touchdown and led the wideouts with seven catches for 79 yards, George Kittle was only used to catch three passes for 19 yards. These teams meet again in two weeks, The 8-3 49ers have righted themselves from that three-game losing streak and take complete control of the NFC West over the No. 2 6-5 Seahawks. The 49ers spend next week in Philadelphia before returning home to host these Seahawks again.
A.T. Perry has a big opportunity to prove himself in Michael Thomas’ absence. The rookie must step up with a vacancy in the receiving corps:
The New Orleans Saints have placed wide receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve. This continues an unfortunate trend for the wide receiver, though there’s hope he returns before the end of the season. There are two ways to go about filling Thomas’ role. You’re likely replacing his production with multiple players, but who’s going to step into his role.
New Orleans brought back Keith Kirkwood and Marquez Callaway after Thomas’ injury. The Saints philosophy is to typically lean on veteran players. Kirkwood had 209 receiving yards as a rookie with New Orleans, but that was in 2018. Callaway was the Saints lead receiver when Thomas missed a whole season. Callaway would be able to slot well into Thomas role.
However, neither Callaway or Kirkwood have Perry’s upside. The Saints should lean away from their typical reliance on veterans in favor of getting a bigger sample size of a young player. Thomas’ absence opens the door for A.T. Perry to show himself deserving of a bigger role. Perry is a rookie who registered his first catch and touchdown in last week’s game versus the Minnesota Vikings.
In this week’s opening press conference, Saints head coach Dennis Allen said “Mike’s position is the kind of position they see Perry playing” and expected a bigger role for Perry. This is the right call, as Perry deserves an opportunity to show if he can be a future asset for the Saints.
