Michael Thomas is feeling himself. The 2019 offensive player of the year feels good and the goal for him is to play Sunday in Atlanta and is ready to be better than his 2019 form.
Thomas returned to practice on Wednesday after missing the most recent practices due to a hamstring injury. There was some concern about if he’d be ready to go. The receiver in his own way said he’ll be ready for Sundays game.
Getting Michael Thomas back might be bigger than almost any player this team could’ve added this season. There is a speculation that Mike won’t be back to his 2019 form. But Thomas disagrees with those takes.
Honestly he doesn’t have to return to his 2019 form. Thomas being on the field is more than enough to make the offense better. The presence of Thomas on the field creates chaos for the opposing team.
If you prefer watching/listening to news instead of reading check out the video I posted regarding today. I cover the same things in the video that I cover in this article.
Injury Report
The injury report for the Saints was bigger than I think most suspected. A total of nine players were listed on the report. Some were expected and some new names were listed.
As expected Pete Werner, Michael Thomas, Paulson Adebo and Tre’Quan Smith were listed. However it seems like Smith has a new injury as we all thought Smith was dealing with a shoulder injury which he suffered in the preseason finale vs the Chargers.
From what I was told the other injuries are believed to be short term injuries. A reason wh the injuries are occurring could be because the players are adjusting to the new strength program. If you lift and train a certain way for a certain amount of time and you get accustomed to that and then change it, there’s gonna be some complications adjusting including some injuries.
It’s only Wednesday, the injury report on Friday is the one that matters most.
Paulson Adebo’s status
The status of Paulson Adebo is the second most important on the report behind Michael Thomas. The second year corner is dealing with an ankle injury. Adebo said himself that the injury is day to day, but based on body language and integrations it looked like the corner was close to 100% a few weeks ago.
My knowledge is that Adebo’s ankle was bothering him Wednesday morning. He was in the building but was working with the trainers. It looked like he was progressing well but it sounds like he won’t practice tommorow (Thursday). Still day by day and I hope I’m wrong but it looks like we’ll see Roby as the cornerback opposite of Lattimore Sunday barring a drastic change.
Transactions
I didn’t cover anything yesterday regarding the two roster moves, but the Saints signed linebacker Chase Hansen to the 53 man roster from the practice squad. Hansen had a great outing against the Texans in the preseason opener, but dealt with injuries which I believe prevented him from making the team initially.
Taking Hansen’s spot on the practice squad is quarterback Jake Luton who will provide extra depth at quarterback. Nothing else.
Something else to note is that former Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders retired.
Possible practice squad elevations for Sunday
In the scenario that both Tre’Quan Smith and Dwayne Washington are not available Sunday it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kirk Merritt be elevated. Merritt would be a two for one special because he can play both wide receiver and running back while filling in on special teams.
If Paulson Adebo does miss Sunday’s game the Saints probably activate Vincent Gray or DeMarcus Fields from the practice squad to provide some extra depth and help.
We probably see an offensive lineman get elevated as well it just depends on whose available and whose not come Saturday.
Team Captains
The Saints 2022 team captains were announced. Four of the six captains are the same as last season in Jameis Winston, Demario Davis, Cam Jordan and J.t. Gray. With the retirement of Malcolm Jenkins and departure of Terron Armstead, two new captains were named. Alvin Kamara and Ryan Ramczyk, both prospects from that legendary 2017 draft class.
Written by Kadin Janisch
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