Thomas announced Wednesday via his personal Twitter account that he won't play this season after experiencing what he described as a "small setback" in his rehab from offseason left ankle surgery.
Thomas' decision to rule himself out for 2021 comes after Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier Wednesday that the wideout suffered a "new and separate" injury to the left ankle that left him without a clear timeline to return. While Thomas didn't elaborate on the severity of his setback, it was evidently significant enough for him to rule out a return to the field in the next two months. After playing only seven games in 2020 due to the same ankle issue that later required surgery, Thomas will head into his age-29 campaign in 2022 with a limited track record of playing with quarterbacks other than Drew Brees.