Earlier this month, the New Orleans Saints were able to secure restricted free agent wide receiver Cameron Meredith on a two-year, $10 million deal after the Chicago Bears decided to not match the offer. Much of their hesitance has come with his recovery from a torn ACL that occurred last August.

The Bears have been quite stern on their decision to move on from Meredith backing their team doctors advice about his health. However, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has voiced that he wouldn't be shocked to see the 25-year-old on the field for some work in minicamp, according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com.

“I wouldn't be surprised to see him getting some work in our minicamp based on our reports, so we're excited,” Payton said.

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It has been around eight months since the injury occurred, which is a sizable amount of time removed from it. There haven't been any reported setbacks up to this point or anything else that would lend to the belief that he won't be on the field at some point this offseason.

In fact, Payton's comments give the impression that Meredith will be on the field for the start of the 2018 season without any limitations. There is an opportunity in front of him to secure a significant role in the passing game that could see him form a dynamic duo alongside Pro Bowl wide receiver Michael Thomas. Prior to the injury, Meredith was had put together a career-best campaign in 2016 where he recorded 66 catches for 888 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

New Orleans appears to be quite confident that he can recapture that form and possibly move forward into his development as one of the better young wideouts in the league. With there being a few months until the start of next season, it will provide Meredith plenty of time to prove he can be a major part of the puzzle in 2018.