Michael Thomas is on pace to return for the New Orleans Saints playoff matchup versus the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Thomas is expected to practice Wednesday on a limited basis and will ramp up during the week, per a source informed of the situation.
Thomas has missed the last three games after going on injured reserve in order to allow time for his injured ankle to heal.
The plan for the star receiver to return for the postseason is looking good at this point in the week.
Per usual, coach Sean Payton remained mum on the wideout's status Wednesday.
"No updates injury-wise," Payton said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN. "I'm gonna see what this week holds. Currently he's still on reserve-injured. I know he's been working at it. But we'll get a better feel this week how he's progressing."
Until the Saints activate Thomas off IR, the team does not need to indicate his practice status on the weekly injury report.
Getting Thomas back for the postseason run would be a huge boon for a Saints team with Super Bowl aspirations. Thomas has averaged 98.6 receiving yards per game in five career playoff games -- the third-highest career postseason receiving YPG average in NFL history (min. three games) behind Larry Fitzgerald (104.7) and Julio Jones (104.3).
The Bears-Saints wild-card game kicks off Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET and can be viewed on CBS, Nick, Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access.
