Help isn’t on the way ahead of the New Orleans Saints’ most important game of the year. Head coach Dennis Allen said Tuesday that he doesn’t expect wide receiver Michael Thomas or cornerback Marshon Lattimore to return from injured reserve for Sunday’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Both players went on injured reserve after the Saints’ Week 10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings; a helmet to the knee sidelined Thomas, while Lattimore’s ankle was injured when a teammate rolled up on him while making a tackle. So they’re both going to miss at least six games this season after missing most of last year with unrelated injuries.
Will the third time be the charm in 2024? The team must make a decision on Thomas, choosing to either extend his contract again or release him, but Lattimore’s contract makes it tough to move on from him. Paulson Adebo has played really well in his absence and there are some young promising players at receiver like A.T. Perry who could use more reps. We’ll see how things work out in the spring, but for now the Saints need to figure out ways to win without some of their best players.
