Michael Thomas injury: NFL Insider provides update on Saints WR's possible return date 

For years the Drew Brees/Michael Thomas connection was the "bread and butter" of the New Orleans Saints offense. The New Orleans Saints are ranked 31st in the National Football League in terms of receiving yards.

The obvious reason is due in part to the absence of wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas dealt with an ankle injury in 2020 that limited him to just five starts, seven games in total, breaking a four-year streak of at least 1,000 receiving yards.

Michael Thomas had surgery on his ankle in the offseason, which has kept him off the field so far this season.

Although it was originally thought that Thomas would return around Week 6 or 7 of the NFL season, it seems that he isn't ready to return to the field just yet.

NFL Insider gives update as to when Michael Thomas will return

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Michael Thomas, who is scheduled to return to the New Orleans Saints this week, is still apparently weeks away from even hitting the practice field.

Per NFL rules, once a player is activated off the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, the team has three weeks to put that player on the active roster or, they will be done for the season if they can't get back in that time frame.

So, once Thomas returns to practice, the Saints will have 21 days to get him on the active roster. It seems that the Saints are waiting until Thomas is completely rehabilitated and healthy before starting the clock for his return.

There has been speculation since the summer that the New Orleans Saints and Michael Thomas were not in a good place.

There were even rumors that Thomas wanted to be traded out of New Orleans and that he waited to undergo surgery to delay the time frame of his return.

Most of those rumors have been squashed and it seems that both parties are on good terms.

The Saints offense desperately needs Michael Thomas back in the starting lineup. Since being drafted in 2016, Thomas has had over 1,000 yards receiving each season until 2020.

His 1,725 receiving yards in 2019 led the league and his 149 receptions that season broke an NFL record.

In his absence, the New Orleans Saints signed Chris Hogan in the summer and used Kenny Stills, Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris and Ty Montgomery. The New Orleans Saints sit at 3-2 in the season and are coming off their bye week.

The Saints will travel to the West Coast for a Monday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

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