Basically since the start of the season, Saints fans have been pointing toward the Week 6 bye as a time for the team to appear like something close to the best version of itself. That seemed to be the ideal amount of time to allow key injured players like Michael Thomas, Wil Lutz, Marcus Davenport, Terron Armstead and Erik McCoy to return to action. Maybe that is still partially true, but it doesn't look like every wish will come true. Thomas, who is eligible to return off the physically unable to perform list this week, is reportedly not ready to play. The star wide receiver could still be a few weeks away from a healthy return to the field, which isn't ideal for a Saints passing attack that has not yet taken flight. There's potentially better news regarding Lutz, whom the team designated to return off injured reserve Monday. But being designated to return does not necessarily mean Lutz will be active when the Saints take the field in Seattle this week. We should get a better idea of how the rest of the injured Saints are looking when the team returns to practice Thursday — including updates on the uncertain status of multi-purpose players Taysom Hill (concussion) and Deonte Harris (hamstring). If you don't feel like wading into the injury news pool, columnist Jeff Duncan has you covered. He wrote about Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen, a rising star in the coaching ranks, making the right decision not to leave the Saints staff this summer to pursue a promotion to defensive coordinator on Ed Orgeron's staff at LSU. As you may have heard, that staff will all likely be looking for new work this offseason. As always, we appreciate your support as we aim to deliver the best and most comprehensive Saints coverage around. If you're not a subscriber and wish to support our journalists, you can do so here. We promise we'll make it worth it. Until next time... Cheers, Luke Johnson | 
