How the Saints can survive without Michael Thomas at receiver

Despite beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Game 1, the New Orleans Saints suffered their first loss of the COVID-’20 season.

Three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Thomas is expected to be sidelined several weeks, beginning with Monday night’s nationally-televised game against the Las Vegas Raiders (7:15 p.m., ESPN) in the grand opening of $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium.

Thomas suffered a high left ankle sprain during the late stages of Sunday’s 34-23 win against the Buccaneers at Mercedes-Benz Superdome after being rolled into by Saints running back Latavius Murray.

Unquestionably Thomas will be missed, just as quarterback Drew Brees was missed last season after tearing a ligament in the right thumb of his throwing hand in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Rams.

I remember the days after that lopsided 27-9 loss in LA-LA Land. Many national pundits immediately wrote the Saints off when it was determined Brees needed surgery and would miss up to six weeks.

A deflated Who Dat Nation feared the worst after losing Ironman No. 9. With good reason.

But backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater came to the rescue, helping the Saints win all five games and remain on track in Brees’ absence.

Thomas doesn’t require surgery but he will be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, necessitating the need for other players to step up, most notably No. 2 wideout Emmanuel Sanders.

Sanders is seen as an ideal complement to Thomas, a proven veteran who can attract defensive attention downfield and help open up the passing game for the super spreader Brees. Sanders returned immediate dividends, catching three passes for 15 yards and one touchdown against the Bucs.

But Sanders is not expected to fill Thomas’ void by himself. No one player can. And that’s the beauty of the Saints’ multi-faceted offense under creative play-caller Sean Payton who has a smorgasbord of options on his roster.

Swiss army knife Taysom Hill. Dual threat running back Alvin Kamara, sidekick Latavius Murray and reserves Ty Montgomery and Dwayne Washington. Tight ends Jared Cook, Josh Hill and rookie Adam Trautman. Wide receivers Tre’Quan Smith and Deonte Harris.

Heck, third-string quarterback Jameis Winston may even see the field in the coming weeks.

Again, Thomas will be missed. Don’t kid yourself. Last season alone, he caught a league-record 149 passes of 185 targets (80.5 percent) for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns en route to being named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

The dude is stupid good, a one-man gang.

But there is strength in numbers and the Saints arguably have the best roster in the NFL to pick up the slack, just like last season when Brees went down and all three phases rallied around Bridgewater.

It’s time once again for the Black and Gold to soldier on.

This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 12:08 PM.