It's a new season, but the same questions remain: When will Michael Thomas be back healthy for the New Orleans Saints?
This time around he's got a different quarterback to work with in Derek Carr and a 1-year, incentive-laden contract to offer any extra motivation he might need. But much like a year ago, he's recovering from surgery, and there is some question as to whether he'll be ready for team workouts later this year.
"He’s making progress in the recovery," Allen said Tuesday, speaking from the NFL's annual owner meetings. "He’s not 100% and we’re going to be cautious with it and take our time, and we really don’t want to put him out there until he’s 100%.”
It's a familiar refrain from a season ago when Thomas was recovering from ankle surgery and setbacks that had cost him the entire 2022 season. The Saints took it slow. Thomas wasn't on the field for OTAs or minicamp, though he was in attendance for the latter. The question was ultimately answered, though, when Thomas ran out on the field for the first day of training camp, having been cleared earlier that morning.
This year the recovery is relative to a significant toe injury suffered in Week 3. Thomas did prove he could still be productive during that run, catching 16 passes for 171 yards and 3 TDs during that span, all thrown by Jameis Winston.
The WR initially was set on a rehab timeline with an eye on returning in 2022, but it did not heal as doctors had hoped and he underwent surgery to correct it. Allen didn't indicate any setbacks in that recovery, and projected confidence that his star receiver would be there when the time comes.
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“I expect him to be fully healthy and ready to go," Allen said. "When that point and time is, I don’t want to get into those speculations. But, yea, we feel good about where he’s at.”
While continued injury questions will be enough to make fans cringe, Thomas has been projecting confidence this offseason and seemed particularly excited with the signing of Carr. He also has about four months before the team takes the field for training camp, making the situation anything but dire.
In the days following the Saints 4-year, $150 million deal with the former Raiders signal-caller, Thomas agreed to rework his contract to a 1-year commitment that could be worth up to $15 million with incentives.
"I think the acquisition of Derek was big in that thought process," Allen said. "I don’t want to speak for Mike. I also just think that ... Mike knows, and a lot of our players know, that they work for one of the better organizations in our league and we’re going to have a chance to do some good things this year.”
Carr detailed conversations with Thomas as he was weighing his options, and both seemed thrilled at the prospect of working together a pass-throwing and catching tandem, the only question is when that officially begins.
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