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Saints head coach Sean Payton acknowledged Wednesday that Thomas could require another procedure for his left ankle, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports. "I think this isn't anything he can control," Payton said when asked about the wideout's potential need for surgery, after Thomas announced earlier Wednesday via his personal Twitter account that he wouldn't play this season.
Payton said that Thomas had been "working his tail off" to return at some point during the second half of the season after spending the first eight weeks of the campaign on the reserve/PUP list, but those hopes were dashed after the three-time Pro Bowler recently experienced what Ian Rapoport of NFL Network described as "a new and separate" injury to the same ankle. Thomas initially injured the ankle early Week 1 of last season and proceeded to miss the next six games, only to aggravate the injury coming out of Week 13. He returned for the playoffs, but he didn't look to be in top form before ultimately opting for surgery in June to repair multiple ligaments in the ankle after rest and rehab didn't resolve the matter. In light of his latest setback, the prospect of another procedure clouds the long-term outlook of Thomas, who will turn 29 in March and has yet to get integrated in the New Orleans offense during the post-Drew Brees era.
