Details of What Led to Michael Thomas Ankle Surgery Are Troubling

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Many were puzzled this offseason when it was announced that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas would be having ankle surgery that could sideline him for the start of season. Questions ran rampant regarding why he didn't have the surgery earlier to avoid being sidelined to kick off the 2021-22 campaign.

Well, details have emerged on the events that led to the late-offseason surgery, and they're extremely troubling.

Michael Thomas Injury

According to Saints beat writer Jeff Duncan, New Orleans staff met with Thomas at the end of the 2020 season and advised surgery. The receiver got a second opinion and tried to rehab it without surgery, which the team was on board with as long as he kept them in the loop on his progress. Then things went south.

The team found out that Thomas' ankle was still "not right" when he returned for workouts, and that's when surgery became the only option.

It's extremely concerning that Thomas is the root of the problem now facing New Orleans. They're without their top wideout potentially for the first couple of weeks to begin the year, and the team's already shaky WR depth is now a glaring issue.

With most free agents off of the market and few trade options available, Thomas' absence occurred at the worst time. And all of it could have been avoided had he kept in communication with the staff.

New Orleans heads into their Week 1 matchup against the Green Bay Packers as 2.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Isaiah De Los Santos is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Isaiah De Los Santos also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username zayyy05328. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.