NFL: Saints shock! Star Receiver Michael Thomas falls off for months

Shortly before the start of training camps, the New Orleans Saints must digest a bad news: Wide Receiver Michael Thomas will miss the start of the coming season - and could be missing far into the season.

As NFL-Network-insider Ian Rapoport announced on Friday afternoon, Thomas had to undergo an intervention on the ankle in June. The reason for this is still the injury suffered last September, which Thomas plagued over the whole season and put him out of battle for several weeks. The injury is simply not healed so that the procedure was necessary.

According to Rapoport, Thomas should be four months in the episode. Since the operation took place in June, it is well possible that Thomas will only exist at the end of October or early November.

With a view to the current Saints squad, the larger questions raises: New Orleans has barely reliable recyving options behind Thomas, especially since in addition to Wide Receiver Emmanuel Sanders also took Tight End Jared Cook in the Free Agency.

Running Back Alvin Kamara is now likely to be the primary player station next to Receiver Tre'Quan Smith, with a lot of occasions behind it. It is also assumed that New Orleans will be active on the Free Agency market again: Players like Larry Fitzgerald, Golden Tate or Kenny Stills are still available.

Articles and videos about the topic * Video: This is how the Bucs celebrate their new Super Bowl rings * Starter Series AFC North: Are the Steelers still good enough? * Experience the NFL live and on retrieval on Dazn. Get your free month now! * NFL Game Pass: Watch the Season Live!

If you throw the passports, however, is still unclear: Jameis Winston and Tayom Hill duel team internally around the succession of the resigned Drew Brees. With Hill, the Saints would suspect more about a focus on the RUN GAME option. Maybe the Thomas failure makes this variant even more likely.