Michael Thomas Injury Update Clouds Week 7 Fantasy Outlook

It has been a frustrating year to be a Michael Thomas fantasy manager. The New Orleans Saints' record-breaking wideout suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 1, which kept him sidelined for the team's next three games. Just when he looked poised to return, Thomas reportedly punched a teammate in practice and was suspended for the Saints' game in Week 5.

Now believed to be making his return in Week 7, Thomas has apparently suffered yet another setback and is dealing with a brand-new injury.

#Saints star WR Michael Thomas tweaked a hamstring in practice — just the latest hurdle as he tries to get back on the field Sunday against the #Panthers. @gmfb @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/heGCYy8Ztl
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 22, 2020

Michael Thomas Injury Update

Thomas suffered a hamstring injury in practice, and his status for Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers appears to be in doubt. The team's official practice report still hasn't been released, however, so there is still a chance he was able to get some work in today.

Saints WR Michael Thomas was not participating in the early portion of practice open to the media again Thursday. Practice report comes out later, so we’ll see if he was able to return on a limited basis like he did Wednesday. LT Terron Armstead was present but not participating.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 22, 2020

There's still nothing concrete as to whether or not he'll be able to suit up, but this is yet another troubling development for a player whose had a lot of them recently.

If Thomas can't go, Emmanuel Sanders would once again serve as New Orleans' No. 1 WR. Sanders has seen 31 targets (7.8 per game) since Thomas went down, and he's turned that into 5.8 catches for 72.8 receiving yards per game. He's also coming off his best outing as a Saint, putting up 12 catches for 122 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Sanders would be a solid WR3 option if Thomas is sidelined come Sunday.

The Panthers have been surprisingly effective defending the pass this season, ranking No. 13 in Football Outsiders' DVOA metrics, but Saints' WR Tre'Quan Smith could hold some appeal as a sleeper since this game has a 51-point over/under, on FanDuel Sportsbook. He'd only be worth a look if Thomas is ruled out, however.

Thomas' status will be important to monitor for the rest of the week. Feel free to use him as a WR1 if he's active, but fantasy managers may need to get a backup plan in place.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. 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.