Who Should I Start? Michael Thomas or Zay Flowers

Wednesday, September 11, 8:40 PM

The National Football League on Wednesday announced that it has lifted the suspension of free-agent wide receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas was suspended for the first game of the 2024 NFL season for an incident with a construction worker near his home last year. The fact that the 31-year-old remained without a team all offseason is a sign that he may struggle to latch on with an organization despite the fact that he's past his one-game suspension. Just several years ago, Thomas was the best receiver in the league, but injuries have limited him to 20 games since the start of the 2020 campaign, and he played in just 10 games with the New Orleans Saints last year before a knee injury ended his season. He caught 39 passes for 448 yards and one touchdown in 2023. Thomas belongs on the waiver wire in all leagues and is unlikely to be on the fantasy radar in 2024.

Monday, May 5, 12:22 PM

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that wide receiver Zay Flowers (knee) ended up not needing surgery for his knee this offseason. Flowers sprained his right knee in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns and wasn't able to play in either of the team's postseason games as a results. The 24-year-old former 22nd overall pick in 2023 out of Boston College should now be fully ready for the start of the 2025 season this fall, but we'll keep a close eye on his progress once training camp gets underway in late July. Flowers earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2024 in his second year in the league after catching 74 passes for 1,059 yards and four touchdowns on 116 targets over 17 games (15 starts). He has been the team's WR1 since being drafted in the first round and has plenty of elusiveness and speed, but he's more of a low-end WR2/high-end WR3 in fantasy in a run-first offense.