New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas has been placed on injured reserve and will likely miss the rest of the season because of a toe injury.
Coach Dennis Allen said Thursday that Thomas will undergo surgery after an MRI revealed that the toe had not healed the way the team thought it would.
Allen said he didn’t have any specific timetable for Thomas’ return, but indicated he doesn’t “anticipate that he’ll be able to return this year.” He said the injury was a dislocated second toe, and that Thomas did everything he could to rehab it without needing surgery.
The decision means Thomas will have missed most of three seasons since his five-year, $96 million extension went into effect in 2020.
After Thomas missed more than half of 2020 and all of 2021 because of complications related to ankle surgery, the Saints had hoped the seventh-year pro out of Ohio State would return to his All-Pro form of 2019, when he set an NFL record with 149 catches and finished that season with 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns.
Instead, Thomas played in just three games this season, catching 16 passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns.
Thomas had missed the Saints’ past five games. Allen said Thomas worked hard to rehabilitate the injury in hopes of coming back this season and avoiding surgery.
ESPN’s Katherine Terrell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.