New Orleans Saints

Sunday's game between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions will be played as scheduled after a positive COVID-19 test of a Saints player was later determined to be a false positive.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the initial positive test was rerun and found to be negative. The NFL's rapid-response testing can be subject to a higher rate of false positives than standard testing, which can take days to return the result. The league tests players every day and retests positive samples to ensure accuracy and avoid any possible outbreaks that could arise from a false negative.

After three weeks of games going off without a hitch, the NFL is facing a crisis heading into Week 4. The Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers had their game moved back to Week 7 after the Titans had an outbreak. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the organization is up to 18 positive tests this week, the largest outbreak of the young season.

The Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots had their game moved from Sunday after both organizations had positive tests. The game is expected to be played Monday but could be moved to Tuesday or postponed, depending on how testing goes for both organizations.

While the NFL has stringent COVID-19 policies in place for when players are at team facilities, they are not in a bubble environment. Players are essentially free to live their regular lives once they leave the team, meaning one player who skirts protocol could lead to a mass outbreak. The league is currently investigating whether the Titans violated COVID protocols.

It's possible, if not likely, the NFL will add even more stringent policies to hopefully avoid other teams suffering a similar outbreak. It has been suggested by some that the NFL move into 32 hard bubbles, which would have players sequester themselves from the general public within their market. That has been, to this point, resisted by the NFLPA.

The New Orleans Saints had an undisclosed player test positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Detroit for a Week 4 game against the Lions, according to Pro Football Talk.

New Orleans is reportedly in the midst of testing the people who were in contact with him:

This is the fourth NFL team to produce positive test results this week following the Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer notes the team didn't learn of the positive test until after arriving in Detroit. The Saints are reportedly re-running their most recent test results for confirmation with "several" players awaiting a POC test at the team hotel.

New Orleans is concerned there may have been more players exposed. Head coach Sean Payton—who was fined $100,000 earlier this season for improperly wearing a face mask—has already revealed he contracted and recovered from the virus earlier this spring.

The Titans game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday has already been postponed with the date to be determined. The Patriots placed quarterback Cam Newton on the COVID-19/Reserve list Saturday while the Chiefs learned one member of their organization tested positive.

Kansas City and New England were also scheduled to face each other on Sunday. That game is currently postponed pending more test results. The NFL is looking at moving the Week 4 contest to Monday or Tuesday, if possible.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio expects Sunday's Saints-Lions game will be postponed as well while the league works through its contingency plans.

New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas will miss Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions with an ankle injury.

He was limited in practice over the past three days, and the Saints officially listed him as out on their injury report.

Thomas suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1. The wideout initially felt good upon returning, saying he "felt fantastic" at the first practice after the injury, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. However, the Saints remained cautious and kept him out of the lineup.

He continued to work his way back and was eyeing a Week 4 return even before missing the Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers.

When healthy, Thomas is one of the top receivers in the NFL after being named first-team All-Pro in each of the last two seasons. He set a single-season NFL record with 149 receptions last year while also leading the league with 1,725 yards while adding nine touchdowns.

The 27-year-old wasn't been able to replicate the success early in 2020, only totaling three catches for 17 yards in his first game before the ankle injury.

Tre'Quan Smith and Emmanuel Sanders will continue to have bigger roles with Thomas unavailable, while the Saints will likely rely heavily on Alvin Kamara out of the backfield.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara brushed aside criticism of teammate and quarterback Drew Brees in comments made to reporters on Wednesday, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.

"I’m fine with Drew," Kamara said.

"It’s early in the season. Everybody outside of this building has something to say, and quite honestly, I don’t really give a damn. Drew’s proven to be one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks year in and year out, and I’m expecting the same this year no mater what’s going on.

"When you’re losing it’s easy to point fingers and say this and say that. But we’ll get back on track and everybody will shut up."

The Saints, who have gone 13-3 in each of the past two regular seasons, are just 1-2 after three games. They're on a two-game losing streak after falling 34-24 to the Las Vegas Raiders and 37-30 to the Green Bay Packers.

The 41-year-old Brees has set a remarkably high standard for himself during a two-decade career that includes 13 Pro Bowl appearances and a pair of Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year awards.

However, his numbers have taken a dip from 2019 to 2020, with lower marks in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per pass attempt and quarterback rating.

Brees is also last in the NFL in average intended air yards at 4.8, according to Next Gen Stats.

The quarterback has notably been without the services of No. 1 wideout Michael Thomas, who is recuperating from a high ankle sprain suffered in Week 1, for the past two games.

Still, Brees has captained an offense that Football Outsiders ranks 10th in the league in offensive efficiency and ninth in pass-game efficiency.

Brees may not be experiencing the same level of success that fans are used to seeing from him, but the Saints offense is still clearly an above-average unit despite the absence of the all-time single-season receptions leader in Thomas.

The Saints have also faced a difficult schedule, beating the 2-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and losing to the 2-1 Raiders on the road and 3-0 Packers at home.

The narrative on Brees' struggles may quiet down after Sunday, as the team will face the 1-2 Detroit Lions, who have allowed the seventh-most points in the league.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas reportedly wants to play next week after suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 1.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thomas was "moving really well" during a Friday workout and is trending toward being on the field.

Thomas is coming off a record-setting 2019 season. His 149 receptions were the most ever in a single year, and he finished with a league-high 1,725 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

The former Ohio State star quickly became Drew Brees' favored option. Since the stat started to get widely recorded in 1992, no player had more targets through his first four years than Thomas (602), according to Pro Football Reference.

The Saints added two-time Pro Bowler Emmanuel Sanders in the offseason, and look for him, running back Alvin Kamara, tight end Jared Cook and wideouts Tre'Quan Smith and Deonte Harris to see more targets from Brees and the 1-1 Saints on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers.

Former New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Derland Moore died Thursday at the age of 68. 

The Saints announced Friday that Moore, a member of the organization's Hall of Fame and 50th Anniversary Team, died after a "long illness."

Moore, a Missouri native, was a standout at the University of Oklahoma before the Saints selected him in the second round of the 1973 draft.

He played 13 years for New Orleans, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 1983. He said his inclusion on the team's 50th Anniversary Team in 2016 was a hallmark moment:

"It was damn nice to be selected on the 50th team in New Orleans as the best of the best. That was a damn nice feeling. There are some good guys involved in that. John Hill was part of that. John passed away a year ago. John and I actually lived together for three years, so we were close friends. To be a part of it with him and Archie Manning, Stan Brock, Tommy Myers, Rickey Jackson and the rest of those guys was special."

Moore was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame as part of its 1991 class.

He played one season with the New York Jets in 1986 before retirement.

"The only regret I have is I can't do it all over again," Moore told John Rohde of The Oklahoman in 1987.

Moore was also inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees brushed aside criticism of his performance in a Week 2 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders during a call with reporters Wednesday, per Nick Shook of NFL.com.

Talk that the 41-year-old Brees may be slowing down has centered around various statistics, including his air yards per pass attempt:

Brees specifically referenced that concern in his comments to reporters.

"I feel good, I feel good. ... You know one of the statistics that was thrown out after the game was the yards per attempt or something like that. There are many statistics I do not pay one bit of attention to—and that would be one of them. At the end of the day, I am focused on putting us in position to succeed, making great decisions, both in the run game or pass game, whatever is predicated on my ability to get us in the best play. And our ability to take care of the football and go and score points, put us in the best position to win.

"Those are the things I'm focused on, and I don't care how we do it. I honestly don't. I just want to win football games."

The Saints beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-23 in Week 1 before losing to the Raiders 34-24.

Brees and the Saints were without wide receiver Michael Thomas in Week 2 after the single-season receptions record holder suffered a high-ankle sprain against Tampa Bay.

Per Steven Ruiz and Chris Korman of USA Today, Brees also has the NFL's third-worst Completion Percentage Over Expectation at minus-8.4.

Per Ben Baldwin of The Athletic, Brees is last in that statistic when you exclude garbage time:

The Saints are also sixth-lowest in offensive success rate, per Baldwin: 

Overall, Brees has completed 64.7 percent of his passes, which is his lowest mark since 2012. He's also averaging 6.9 yards per pass attempt, his lowest figure since 2007. His 236.0 passing yards per game are his lowest in New Orleans, where he signed in 2006 after spending the first five years of his career with the San Diego Chargers.

The early numbers are concerning, but it's only a two-game sample size, one of which was without one of the NFL's greatest offensive talents.

It's possible Brees, a 13-time Pro Bowler and two-time Offensive Player of the Year, could finally be slowing down in his 20th NFL season. However, a greater sample size is necessary before determining whether Brees has finally taken a downturn.

He and the Saints will look to bounce back at home against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET.

Michael Thomas spent his Monday night deleting tweets in the wake of the New Orleans Saints' 34-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Thomas, who sat out because of a sprained ankle suffered in Week 1, was inducted into the Old Takes Exposed Hall of Fame thanks to two tweets he posted during the game:

In Thomas' defense, things did look good for the Saints early. They seized a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 10-point lead late in the second quarter. 

Things fell apart before halftime when the Raiders scored 10 points in the span of one minute, 44 seconds thanks to a Zay Jones touchdown catch and a Daniel Carlson field goal after Nicholas Morrow picked off Drew Brees. 

The Raiders outscored New Orleans 27-7 over the final 32 minutes of game time to earn their first home win at Allegiant Stadium. 

The Saints will anxiously await Thomas' return to get their offense back on track and save him from the dangers of tweeting before games have ended.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees laughed off a question Monday about the "narrative" that his performance is beginning to decline in his 20th NFL season. 

"Well, my job is to execute the offense," Brees told reporters after a 34-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. "... My job's not to have the most air yards or throw the ball down the field most or anything like that."

He completed 26 of his 38 attempts for 312 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Saints dropped to 1-1 on the season.

"I think I've always evaluated myself on being a great decision-maker. And so, at the end of the day, I'll throw the ball to the open guy, move the ball down the field, score points, help us win football games. So that's my job," Brees said. "My job's to help us win. My job's to help put everyone around me in the best position to succeed."

Brees was playing without Michael Thomas, his top target, in Monday's loss because of an ankle injury.

The 41-year-old Purdue product has almost exclusively relied on short and intermediate passes through two weeks, including a 34-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.

ESPN Stats and Info noted the average air yards on his passes through two weeks is the lowest of any quarterback in more than a decade:

Favre was playing his second-last NFL season in 2009, and Peyton Manning saw a similar decline during his final season with the Denver Broncos in 2015. His 6.8 yards per attempt that year was his lowest mark since his rookie campaign in 1998.

Brees benefits from being the most accurate passer in NFL history with a career completion percentage of 67.6, per Pro Football Reference.

Yet defenses are going to take note if the Saints aren't able to showcase a vertical passing game and adjust accordingly, cramming the line of scrimmage and bringing the safeties up to clog those short- and mid-range passing lanes.

Brees explained those type of deep throws are still being called. They just haven't materialized.

"We called a shot play or two today—and just got the wrong coverage on both of them," he told reporters. "So what could've been big-play opportunities, what could've been throws down the field unfortunately had to be checked down."

In all, the Saints rank 14th in passing yards per game (250.5) through two weeks after ranking seventh in that category (265.3) in 2019.

Brees and Co. will look to get the aerial attack back on track Sunday night when they welcome Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for a prime-time clash.

New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas is reportedly out 2-4 weeks with a high ankle injury, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.  

Thomas had already been ruled out for Monday night's game against the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Any injury to Thomas is a major blow for the Saints. The star wideout has emerged as arguably the best player at his position in the NFL, catching an incredible 149 passes for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns last season, leading the league in both catches and receiving yards.

It was his third straight season with 100 or more receptions and his fourth straight season with 1,100 or more yards. 

Not surprisingly, Thomas has already been voted into three Pro Bowls in his five-year career and is a two-time first-team All-Pro selection. 

The Saints will need wideout Emmanuel Sanders, running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Jared Cook to carry an even larger load in the passing game while Thomas is out. Receivers Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris and Bennie Fowler could also see additional targets. 

"Well, I think we definitely have a next-man-up mentality," Drew Brees told reporters earlier in the week. "I think everybody's always ready to step into a role and fulfill that role. I think our coaching staff does a great job of putting guys in the best position to succeed and building a game plan around the strengths of the guys that we do have."

Still, Thomas is not the sort of talent that can be replaced. New Orleans' offense will be without its most dangerous weapon for at least a few weeks.