Sean Payton, Saints coach, says Michael Thomas, star receiver should have his ankle surgery performed sooner than he did. (0:39).METAIRIE (La.) METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton was frustrated Wednesday night by the fact that Michael Thomas, a New Orleans Saints receiver, didn't have ankle surgery until June. He declined to explain why.Thomas, who suffered from the injury all season, will likely miss the start of the season."Well, look, it seems we're going to have to spend some more time without him. It's disappointing," Payton stated during the opening videoconference of his training camp before Thursday's first practice. "And we'll deal with it together with the other players who are here. However, the surgery was performed and we would have preferred that it had taken place sooner than it did. It should have.ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Thomas would need surgery to repair his torn deltoid ligaments and other injuries to his ankle. It was only revealed that Thomas didn't have surgery until he returned to Saints' mandatory minicamp last week.Thomas was the NFL's Offensive player of the year for 2019, after setting the league record with his 149 catches. He has not spoken out about the decision to postpone surgery."It was decided after the season that he would treat it conservatively. We all expected that the ankle would heal quickly and that he'd be able to come into camp fine this year," Mickey Loomis, general manager of Saints, said Wednesday. But we got to the minicamp and it was not quite right. We had to call each other and decided to have surgery in June."Obviously, with hindsight, we would have preferred that surgery be performed earlier in February or March. It wasn't. It is what it was. We are hopeful that he will be back soon.Thomas sustained the injury in Week 1 of last season. He never fully recovered and missed Weeks 2-8, 15-17. He had 40 catches for 438 yards and did not catch his first touchdown pass until after the playoffs.Since Thomas' surgery, the Saints have signed one veteran receiver -- Chris Hogan (ex-New England Patriots receiver), who briefly quit football to play pro lacrosse.Both Payton and Loomis were confident in their current depth chart for the position, even though veteran Emmanuel Sanders was released earlier in the offseason. Fourth-year pro Tre'QuanSmith and Hogan are currently the Saints' only receivers with over 26 career receptions. They didn't draft a receiver until Round 7, this year."I think our group of receivers likes us probably more than some media guys. We'll adjust accordingly," Loomis stated about a unit that includes third-year pros Deonte Harps and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, as well as second-year pros Marquez Callaway (and Juwan Johnson).Payton said that there were other pressing positions that could be taken over from that position. Payton specifically mentioned the position of the outside cornerback as a key area.
