That’s discouraging. New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen ruled out wide receivers Michael Thomas (foot) and Jarvis Landry (ankle) due to injuries ahead of Week 8’s game with the Las Vegas Raiders, adding that he doesn’t have a timetable for their return to action.
“The timetable is when they can, effectively, come out and perform then they’ll be out here. Both of those guys, all of those guys (managing injuries) are working their tails off to get healthy,” Allen told reporters Friday. He quickly responded “Yes” as to whether he’s optimistic Thomas or Landry will return at all this season, so they’ll be back at some point. He just can’t say when that will be.
It raises the question of why the Saints didn’t just put Thomas and Landry on injured reserve when they were first hurt. NFL rules allow up to eight players each season to return from injured reserve after sitting out at least four weeks. Thomas will have missed five games in a row, and it will be Landry’s fourth absence. After stressing the need to compete for spots on the 53-man roster all summer and throughout training camp and preseason, the Saints have limited themselves to just 51 spots by keeping both players on the roster while inactive with injuries.
Designating Thomas and Landry to injured reserve a month ago, with the intention of later bringing them back, it would have used up six of their eight return slots: defensive tackle Malcolm Roach and cornerback Alontae Taylor have both already returned from injured reserve, with left tackle Trevor Penning and safety P.J. Williams also expected to return in November. There’s some logic in saving those return slots in case of an emergency later in the season. Personally, I feel it would make more sense to address a real and immediate concern than to wait for a hypothetical one to present itself, but it is what it is.
We’ll see how things develop for other injured players on Week 8’s final injury report. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore (abdomen) and tight end Adam Trautman (ankle) have missed time this week, so it’s unclear when they’ll next be available.
