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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints’ Michael Thomas Out Vs. Lions

October 2nd, 2020 at 3:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Wide receiver Michael Thomas has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Lions, per a club announcement. Thomas has been chomping at the bit to return, but the Saints are taking the cautious approach to protect his long-term availability. 

Doctors told Thomas that he’d be out for several weeks after suffering a high-ankle sprain in mid-September, but he pushed back when the Saints considered placing him on injured reserve, which would have ruled him out for a minimum of three weeks. The 27-year-old has missed only one game since entering the league in 2016.

Drew Brees has struggled thus far in 2020, and Thomas’ return would go a long way towards firing up the offense. Over the last five years, Thomas has racked up 473 catches for 5,529 yards and 32 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the league’s very best offensive weapons. Last year, he led the NFL with 149 catches and 1,725 yards while matching his previous career-high of nine scores.

Unfortunately for the Saints, Thomas won’t be the only starter out of action this weekend. Cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, tight end Jared Cook, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and guard Andrus Peat have also been officially ruled out for Sunday.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/30/20

September 30th, 2020 at 4:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: G Deion Calhoun, LB Kendall Donnerson
  • Released: OT Josh Knipfel

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Seattle Seahawks

New Orleans Saints

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/29/20

September 29th, 2020 at 5:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the Tuesday practice squad decisions:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DL Joe Graziano

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/28/20

September 28th, 2020 at 5:02pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: DT Terry Beckner

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Saints Bring Back Crawley For Visit

September 27th, 2020 at 8:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg
  • The Saints are playing right now on Sunday Night Football, and they could be reuniting with a familiar face soon. New Orleans brought in cornerback Ken Crawley for a visit on Friday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The 2016 UDFA started his career with the Saints, and was with him until he was cut and claimed off waivers by the Dolphins in October of last year. He was with both the Raiders and Cardinals during training camp, and was ultimately cut by both. Still only 27, Crawley was a big part of the Saints’ defense for a while, starting 13 games in 2017 and five in 2018. He struggled pretty badly toward the end with the Saints, which is what led to his release.

Injury Notes: Baker, Thomas, Hunter

September 27th, 2020 at 8:52am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals star safety Budda Baker is playing through a torn UCL in his thumb, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Baker plans to play in Arizona’s game against the Lions this afternoon and then undergo surgery this week. Although the same injury sidelined Saints QB Drew Brees for six weeks last season, Baker obviously does not have to throw the football and believes he will miss only the Cardinals’ Week 4 contest against the Panthers before returning to the field to take on the Jets in Week 5.

Now for more injury-related news regarding a few of the league’s high-profile players:

  • There has been a great deal of talk about Brees’ struggles early this season, but the Saints‘ signal-caller may soon have his top target back. Wide receiver Michael Thomas has looked good in workouts and is eyeing a Week 4 return, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
  • The Vikings need a boost on both sides of the ball, and they are clearly missing DE Danielle Hunter. As Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network tweets, Hunter, who is dealing with a herniated disc in his neck, is eligible to come off IR next week but is unlikely to be ready to return by then. However, he is regaining strength, and the team remains optimistic that he will be back this season.
  • Titans WR A.J. Brown is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee, and the injury is a significant one, according to Schefter (via Twitter). Brown’s knee has not responded as well to treatment as the team had hoped, and he might end up missing more than just this afternoon’s game against Minnesota.
  • More difficult news for Tennessee. Titans CB Adoree’ Jackson is eligible to come off IR this week, but Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com hears that Jackson may not be sufficiently recovered from his knee injury for that to happen (Twitter link). It’s unclear how much additional time the 2017 first-rounder will miss.
  • 49ers WR Deebo Samuel is likely to return to practice this week, as Rapoport notes (via Twitter). Samuel will be eased into action, and while he probably won’t play in Week 4, the Niners’ top wideout is expected back for the team’s Week 5 bout with the Dolphins.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/20

September 26th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Michael Thomas To Miss Another Game

September 25th, 2020 at 4:10pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The Saints will continue to be patient with Michael Thomas. The high ankle sprain the All-Pro suffered will keep him out of Sunday night’s game against the Packers. This will mark just Thomas’ second missed game since his 2016 rookie year and will leave Emmanuel Sanders and Tre’Quan Smith as Drew Brees‘ top receivers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/20

September 21st, 2020 at 6:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/20

September 19th, 2020 at 4:57pm CST by Ben Levine

Recent practice squad notes from around the league:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: WR Hakeem Butler
  • Released: S T.J. Green, T Aaron Monteiro

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: OL Brandon Walton

Of course, the big news here surrounds Callaway. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that the wideout has earned an additional four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. This means he’ll be eligible to return to the field in Week 8.

Callaway will continue to sit on the Dolphins’ practice squad suspended list, per Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com. The 23-year-old will still be allowed to attend meetings, but he can’t practice with the squad until his suspension ends.

The talented wideout out of Florida fell to the Browns in the fourth round of the 2018 draft thanks in part to a 2016 four-game suspension from former head coach Jim McElwain. Callaway immediately contributed in Cleveland, hauling in 43 receptions for 586 and five scores during his rookie campaign. However, the receiver was suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season after violating the substance-abuse policy, and he underwhelmed in the four games following his return (eight receptions, 89 yards).

He was slapped with a 10-game ban late last year, and the suspension was supposed to last through the third week of the 2020 season. Thanks to the latest suspension, Callaway won’t see the field through the first seven weeks of the season.

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