The New Orleans Saints have placed Michael Thomas on the physically unable to perform list and he'll miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

Thomas has been sidelined since he underwent ankle surgery in June.

The late timing of Thomas' surgery was a point of consternation with the team. Sean Payton said at the beginning of training camp, "Obviously we would've liked that to happen earlier than later. And quite honestly, it should've."

Thomas finished with 40 catches for 438 yards in seven regular-season games last season and didn't catch his first touchdown pass until the playoffs.

The New Orleans Saints are making Dallas their temporary home after Hurricane Ida devastated southern Louisiana on Sunday.

Sean Payton said he was unaware of any significant damage to the team's practice facility in Metairie, Louisiana. However, he expects the Saints to practice away from home next week because of widespread power outages and other damage throughout the region.

The Saints are scheduled to host the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 12 in their Week 1 home opener.

"It's too early to determine if we can play the game or not, but from an infrastructure standpoint, we can play a football game," Doug Thornton, the vice president of stadiums for ASM Global, which manages the stadium for the state, said. "We've got two weeks to work with, and we'll have options with the staff. As long as we can get power and water pressure, we'll play a football game [Sept. 12]. We're going to find a way."

The New Orleans Saints are expected to name Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback entering the 2021 season.

An official announcement hasn't yet been made. He was competing with Taysom Hill for the job in training camp.

Winston was the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015.

Fans will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test from the previous 72 hours to attend New Orleans Saints home games, according to a new mandate by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Fans will also be required to wear masks when they aren't eating or drinking. The team and city are still allowing full attendance.

New Orleans is believed to be the first NFL city to have such a mandate in place for fans attending games.

The fractured relationship between Michael Thomas and the New Orleans Saints may be on the mend.

Thomas and Sean Payton had a productive meeting recently in an attempt to smooth over some of the issues that had formed between the two sides.

"They had a good talk about [the issues]," the source said. "I think they both believe it's not anything that has to go any further than what is already out there. There was some frustration from both viewpoints and that was the point of the meeting."

The New Orleans Saints have Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill as options at quarterback as the preseason begins.

Sean Payton is hoping the team's preseason slate will bring some clarity to the competition.

"I'd like to see these guys operate, both of them, in all three of these games," Payton said. "Certainly by the end of the preseason games and possibly maybe before that — a week prior to the last game. But I haven't sat down as a staff and said, 'This is the date.' Hopefully it's something we begin to see a little more clarity on. Both of these guys are working their tail off, they're both well-respected by their teammates, they're really, really good leaders. And that's a good thing."

The Saints will begin preseason play on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens.

The New Orleans Saints are looking to add a cornerback before the start of the 2021 season.

They are reportedly exploring trade options, including C.J. Henderson of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville used the ninth overall pick on Henderson in 2020, but reports surfaced over the weekend that he was being shopped.

There has been friction of some kind between Michael Thomas and the New Orleans Saints for roughly a year now.

Following up a report from last year that the wide receiver's camp was trying to get a team to make a trade offer, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says a trade may be inevitable in 2021.

Thomas posted a tweet recently accusing the Saints of trying to damage his reputation.

Michael Thomas criticized the New Orleans Saints in a tweet on Monday morning.

Thomas, who has been the subject of reports that the team is unhappy with his decision to wait until June to have ankle surgery that was originally recommended in January, posted a tweet that indicated he believes the Saints are attempting to damage his reputation.

"They tried to damage your reputation. You saved theirs by not telling your side of the story," the wide receiver wrote.