The New Orleans Saints‘ pass-catching situation is getting dire. Already without Michael Thomas and Rashid Shaheed, the Saints also lost WR Chris Olave on Sunday. What happened to Olave, and what’s his current injury status?
Chris Olave Injury Update
Olave landed hard after trying to haul in a third-quarter pass attempt from Derek Carr. The former first-round pick appeared to hit either his back or head on the turf and was down for a while.
Olave initially went to the blue medical tent on the Saints’ sideline to be evaluated. But he soon departed for the club’s locker room. Olave was encouraging his teammates as he left the field.
However, the Saints quickly announced that Olave would be out with a concussion for the remainder of the game. Olave could have trouble clearing the NFL’s head injury protocol before New Orleans’ Week 13 against the Detroit Lions.
#Saints WR Chris Olave left the game after landing hard on this jump ball attempt.
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 26, 2023
His injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Not only is New Orleans facing the Atlanta Falcons in a critical NFC South matchup, but Olave had been in the midst of his best game of the season. He’d already posted a season-high 114 receiving yards and was on pace to set a new high-water mark in receptions.
MORE: New Orleans Saints Depth Chart
The Saints can hardly afford to lose any more receivers. Thomas is already on injured reserve, while Shaheed left today’s game with a thigh injury and is questionable to return. Meanwhile, tight end Juwan Johnson departed shortly after Olave and visited the medical tent.
Sixth-round rookie A.T. Perry, Keith Kirkwood, and Lynn Bowden Jr. are the only healthy WRs remaining on New Orleans’ active roster.
Fantasy Fallout From Olave’s Injury
With Olave and Shaheed banged up and Thomas on IR, the pass-catching situation in New Orleans is thin, to say the least. In very deep leagues, Perry or even Kirkwood should see more looks, but outside of those leagues, there’s no reason to get cute.
Alvin Kamara’s status as an elite fantasy option remains, and Taysom Hill’s gadget role increases in value due to volume. Derek Carr wasn’t on your list of QB streamers before any of these injuries, and that remains the case.
— PFN Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe