WR Tre’Quan Smith with a update on his ankle. Doesn’t look positive moving forward. He hasn’t practiced this week pic.twitter.com/0aDXcLgidS
— Brenden Ertle (@BrendenErtle) December 24, 2020
This isn’t ideal. New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith exited Week 15’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with an ankle injury, which held him out of practice on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Late Wednesday afternoon, Smith shared an update on his situation from his official Instagram account, which showed his heavily bandaged leg stabilized after surgery.
He was also flying on a team private jet, showing logos for both the Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. Whether it’s the same aircraft owned by Gayle Benson, who owns both teams, is uncertain. But we can do some detective work here.
Most NFL players who suffer foot and ankle injuries have sought out Green Bay-based specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, who has operated on Marcus Davenport in the past. Anderson also examined Michael Thomas after his early-season high-ankle sprain, though he decided Thomas didn’t require surgery. Again, we don’t know if Anderson worked on Smith, but there’s a precedent.
Whatever the case, it doesn’t appear Smith will be ready to go for Friday’s matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. New Orleans may have been preparing for that absence by designating Marquez Callaway to return from injured reserve and signing free agent Jake Lampman to the practice squad. We should know more once the Saints release their final injury report on Thursday.
