Thomas will reportedly undergo surgery on both torn and injured ligaments in his ankle that are believed to be related to the high ankle sprain he battled all year.
NEW ORLEANS (WWL-TV) — Michael Thomas certainly didn’t flash his NFL Offensive Player of the Year skills this past season and now we know why.
Thomas will reportedly undergo surgery on both torn and injured ligaments in his ankle that are believed to be related to the high ankle sprain he suffered in the first game of the season against Tampa Bay, the team that ended the Saints’ season Sunday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the surgery and that Thomas apparently delayed the surgery because he thought this was likely Drew Brees’ last season and he didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to send him out a champion.
Thomas’ stats in 2020 paled in comparison to his record-setting year in 2019. He caught 40 passes this season for 438 yards and didn’t record a single touchdown. He didn’t catch a pass in the playoff loss to the Bucs.
In 2019 he caught 149 passes for 1,725 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Saints’ WR Michael Thomas is likely to have surgeries on both the torn deltoid and other injured ligaments in his high ankle this offseason, per source. He knew it was likely Drew Brees’ last year and didn’t want to miss out trying win a Super Bowl with him.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2021
Thomas was injured in the season’s first game and then suffered a setback before he could return. He played a few games near the end of the season before being put on injured reserve, missing the last 3 games in an effort to get healthy for the playoffs.
The Saints and head coach Sean Payton are notoriously secretive on player injuries, so the full extent of Thomas’ problems was not known.
