Smith (undisclosed) isn't slated to play in Monday's preseason game versus the Jaguars, John Hendrix of SI.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith was sidelined Aug. 4-16 with an unspecified injury, but he has taken part in practice since Tuesday, so it's only a matter of time before he's cleared for game action, assuming no setbacks. Once he's available to the Saints offense, he'll serve as the team's No. 1 wide receiver as long as Michael Thomas' recovery lasts from June ankle surgery, which is expected to extend into October. For this career, Smith has averaged 13.9 YPC and 9.3 YPT while scoring 14 TDs on 119 targets across 40 games.

Smith (undisclosed) returned to practice Tuesday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith was (and is) expected to step into the early-season void available to Saints wide receivers with Michael Thomas slated to miss approximately the first month of the season. But his practice reps have been nonexistent since he left an Aug. 3 practice due to an unspecified injury. He thus sat out New Orleans' exhibition opener Saturday, but now that he's on the field again he could set himself up to play in Monday's game versus the Jaguars. First, though, Smith may have to get his feet back under him and his conditioning up to par.

Smith (undisclosed) didn't take the field for warmups before Saturday's preseason game against Baltimore, Sean Fazende of FOX8 reports.

EDGE Analysis

With Michael Thomas rehabbing from June ankle surgery and Smith now nursing an undisclosed injury, the Saints are left with a wideout group that includes Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris, Chris Hogan and Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Recent camp reports put Callaway at the head of the pack following a rookie season with 21 catches for 213 yards. Smith should still be a Week 1 starter if his injury isn't serious, but he could benefit from getting more reps with QBs Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill this summer. The Saints' next exhibition will be Mon., Aug. 23 against Jacksonville.

Smith (undisclosed) watched Wednesday's practice from the sideline, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith has been out for more than a week with an undisclosed injury, and while Wednesday marks another missed session, his presence on the sideline could be taken as a sign of progress. With Michael Thomas (ankle) facing a much longer absence, Smith still has a chance to be the team's No. 1 receiver early in the season.

Smith (undisclosed) missed practice again Friday, Katherine Terrell of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Larry Holder of The Athletic previously noted that coach Sean Payton doesn't think Smith's issue will be long term, but the wideout's absence has paved the way for Marquez Callaway to open some eyes at practice of late, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Once he's back at practice, Smith will look to cement a key role in the Saints' passing attack, which seems likely to be without top wide receiver Michael Thomas (ankle) early on this season.

Smith (undisclosed) isn't practicing Wednesday, Luke Johnson of The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Smith left Tuesday's practice early, further depleting the Saints' already-thin WR corps. Michael Thomas (ankle) won't be ready for the early part of the regular season, so Smith could be the No. 1 receiver once he recovers from whatever the current issue is. The Saints haven't provided any information yet.

Smith was forced out of Tuesday's practice early with an unspecified issue, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The report notes that Smith was walking under his own power afterward, but the wideout's status will still need to be monitored in the coming days. Assuming Smith's injury isn't anything long-term, the 25-year-old appears poised to see an expanded role early on this season, with top option Michael Thomas recovering from an ankle injury and likely to miss time out of the gate.

Smith should step into a bigger role early on during the upcoming season with Michael Thomas (ankle) expected to miss at least the first four games, Mike Triplett of ESPN reports.

EDGE Analysis

Despite an inconsistent beginning to his professional career, Smith reportedly is secure in his role as the No. 2 receiver behind Thomas, and the fact that Thomas is set to miss some time means that Smith will serve as the Saints' de facto No. 1 wideout in the short term. Even though Alvin Kamara will remain the focal point of the passing game overall, it's not a stretch to think that Smith could begin the season by at least doubling the average number of targets he saw per game (3.6) last season.

Smith seems poised to start at wide receiver in 2021, Katherine Terrell of the Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

After releasing incumbent No. 2 wideout Emmanuel Sanders this offseason, New Orleans surprised some people by ignoring wide receivers during the early rounds of last weekend's NFL Draft. By instead waiting until the seventh round to merely add Kawaan Baker out of South Alabama, the Saints appear content with Smith as the second option behind Michael Thomas while a slew of undrafted holdovers (Juwan Johnson, Deonte Harris, Lil'Jordan Humphrey) duke it out for tertiary roles. However, potential fantasy investors will need to keep tabs on who will be throwing Smith passes this fall, as the speedster figures to have a much different outlook with the strong-armed Jameis Winston (who tossed Smith a 56-yard bomb in Week 17 of last season) under center than he would with dual-threat quarterback Taysom Hill.

Smith (ankle) was activated from injured reserve prior to Sunday's contest, cashing in on all three of his targets for 85 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-20 divisional round loss to Tampa Bay.

EDGE Analysis

Smith had missed the Saints previous four contests with a bad ankle, and while his team took the loss, the downfield threat produced his best statistical performance of the season upon his return. Michael Thomas (zero catches) was keyed in on by the Buccaneers' defense, allowing the 24-year-old to take advantage of single coverage when he was called upon. The majority of his damage was done on a trick play in which backup quarterback, Jameis Winston, took the top off of the secondary and connected with the speedy wideout on a 50-yard bomb. Drew Brees simply doesn't have the arm strength at his advanced age to generate big plays like that for Smith, so it will actually hurt the receiver's fantasy value if the Hall of Famer decides to continue playing next year. However, If New Orleans has a new quarterback under center in 2021, and said signal caller can stretch the field the way we saw Winston do Sunday, then Smith could begin to gain traction as a fantasy asset, as he consistently sits atop the team's yards per reception rankings, finishing with a mark of 13.2 this year even with a declining Brees starting for most of the season.