The New Orleans Saints might not have Michael Thomas back at wide receiver in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers, but it could end up not mattering. The Panthers cornerbacks situation is in a rough state, setting up Saints wideouts Emmanuel Sanders and Tre’Quan Smith for another big day at the office.
On Friday, the Panthers placed starting corner Rasul Douglas on the COVID-19 reserve list after he missed Thursday’s practice session for non-injury reasons. This will keep Douglas out of action for Sunday’s kickoff, which is a problem: he leads Carolina’s cornerbacks in defensive snaps played (369).
Additionally, both Eli Apple and Donte Jackson are questionable to play with hamstring and knee injuries. Apple still hasn’t taken a snap on defense after getting hurt and missing time. Jackson has only been in on 185 plays on defense this year. Troy Pride Jr. (212 snaps) and Corn Elder (146) are the only other Panthers corners to even get on the field through six weeks.
That makes for a young, inexperienced group that the Saints know how to beat. Sanders went into the bye week after posting one of his best-ever stat lines in the NFL. Smith has been working against Apple in practice for years when they were teammates in New Orleans. It’s a favorable matchup any way you slice it; let’s see if the Saints can take advantage of that.
