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From 2016 until 2019, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas had one of the best stretches of any receiver in history.
Thomas gained 5,512 yards and scored 32 touchdowns in his first four years in the NFL. Unfortunately, he got injured in 2020 and hasn't been the same. Since then, he has only played in a total of 20 games. This season, he played in 10 games, more than any time since 2019. But he suffered a knee injury, and now things look bad.
When will Michael Thomas be back? When will Thomas return from injury? Let's look at the latest Michael Thomas injury news.
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Michael Thomas's Latest Injury Update - November 24
Michael Thomas (knee) was placed on the injured reserve on Tuesday with a knee injury.
The #Saints are placing WR Michael Thomas on IR with his knee injury, per @brookechesney. He's out at least four games. pic.twitter.com/M74YHMKgfw
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 21, 2023
While coach Dennis Allen said the injury was not season-ending, it does keep Thomas out for at least the next four weeks. His earliest possible return is Week 16 for a road game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Michael Thomas Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Michael Thomas was on the Week 9 injury report, but that was because of illness, not the knee injury that is currently sidelining him. He was only targeted once that week and didn't come down with it.
Thomas made the news for the wrong reasons on November 11. The seventh-year receiver was arrested and charged with simple battery and criminal mischief. He was the second starting Saints WR to be arrested this season after Chris Olave's arrest earlier for speeding.
Then in the next game, a Week 10 loss to the Vikings, Thomas sustained the knee injury on the first drive, having only been targeted twice and made one catch before he left the game. Week 11 was a bye week.
Michael Thomas Fantasy Football Outlook
Thomas started out the season gaining 50 or more yards in the Saints' first five games of the season. He saw a slight downturn in Week 6, only gaining 45 yards, and he didn't break 50 in Week 7 either.
Thomas' usage has declined. He has played fewer than 75% of the Saints' offensive snaps in four of the past five games. That has coincided with the activation of rookie WR A.T. Perry. Perry's snap rate has increased from 12% in Week 8, his first game with significant playing time, to 84% last week.
If Thomas is activated in Week 16, then he'll be back in time for the fantasy semifinals in most leagues. But would it be a good idea to throw Thomas into your starting lineup in a crucial game in his first week back?
Already, Thomas had been disappointing in recent weeks. In Week 9, he didn't even finish inside the top 100 WRs. He has only had one top-24 finish and seven top-48 finishes. Thomas would profile as a WR4 or WR5 in a normal week, but that obviously depends on whether he is healthy in Week 16 or not. You'll have a couple of weeks to make your decision to start Thomas or not.
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