Michael Thomas Fantasy

The New Orleans Saints restructured wide receiver Michael Thomas' contract on Friday to create $8.7 million in salary cap space for the 2021 season. It's the team's latest restructure in their attempt to get under the reduced salary cap this year. At one point, the Saints sat around $60 million over the salary cap. Thomas signed a five-year, $96-plus-million extension in 2019 and restructured it once last year to free up cap space. The consensus No. 1 fantasy receiver in 2020, Thomas played in only seven games due to injury and caught 40 passes for 438 yards and no touchdowns, all career-lows. The 28-year-old's restructure won't be the last the Saints do this year. Trade speculation surrounding Thomas should die down, but the All-Pro will take a fall in the wideout rankings in 2021, especially since quarterback Drew Brees is expected to retire.

Mar. 12th • 11:47 AM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (ankle) is likely to have surgery on the torn deltoid and other ligaments in his ankle this offseason, according to a source. Thomas knew it was likely quarterback Drew Brees' last year and didn't want to miss out on a possible Super Bowl run. A high-ankle sprain limited the All-Pro wideout to just seven games this year. He often was playing at far less than 100 percent, catching just 40 passes for 438 yards and no touchdowns during the regular season. The 27-year-old did find the end zone in the wild-card win over the Bears, but he was a massive fantasy bust as the first receiver off the board in the first round in most drafts after his 149-catch, 1,725-yard season in 2019. Thomas should be a top-10 wideout, if healthy, in 2021, but losing Brees will also be a downgrade for his overall outlook moving forward.

Jan. 19th • 11:45 AM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas finished with zero yards on four targets in Sunday's divisional-round loss to the Buccaneers. After a terrific wild-card showing last week with five receptions for 73 yards and a score on seven targets, Thomas fell flat this week. Despite an injury-ridden season, the WR is clearly the top receiving option on the team heading into 2021 and remains a WR1 despite the potential change at QB.

Jan. 17th • 10:23 PM