The New Orleans Saints host the New England Patriots in week 2 of the 2017 regular season and they will be without two of their best receivers from 2016.
The Saints top receiver in 2016 was rookie WR Michael Thomas, who saw a team-high 121 targets and 92 receptions and 9 touchdowns. He recorded the second-most yards on the team with 1,137. The #2 receiver was Brandin Cooks, who saw 117 targets for 78 receptions and a team-high 1,173 yards.
The Saints #3 receiver will be suspended for the regular season match-up as Willie Snead violated the league’s substance abuse policy. He saw 104 targets in 2016 for 72 receptions and 895 yards.
Source: Saints WR Willie Snead has been suspended for the first three games of the regular season.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 1, 2017
#Saints WR Willie Snead is suspended 3 games for violating NFL policy on substances of abuse, per @NFL. It was reduced from 4
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 1, 2017
Saints WR Willie Snead's three-game suspension was for a personal conduct violation that stemmed from an off-season DUI.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2017
Now the Saints will rely on Ted Ginn Jr. as their #2 receiver behind Thomas, which certainly runs in the Patriots favor.