Chris Olave knows it’s coming.
He’s waited nine months to get hit again on the football field. Nine months of waiting and wondering.
No one was more excited to don pads Monday for the New Orleans Saints’ first day of full-contact practice than Olave, the team’s supremely talented fourth-year receiver. After nine months of meetings, doctor’s visits, and consultation about his health and football future, Olave was in his element and back on the field, the place he feels most at home.
“I’m excited, man, excited to get back on that field,” Olave said recently when asked about his anticipation for the first day of fully padded practice.
The Monday practice was Olave’s first live action in football pads since being knocked unconscious from a hit by Xavier Woods during a 23-22 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 3. The vicious head shot left Olave sprawled motionless on the field while teammates rushed to his side. He was transported from the field on a cart and did not play again last season, missing the remaining eight games.
The concussion was Olave’s second of the season, fourth of his NFL career and sixth since his playing days at Ohio State.
Olave’s concussion issues had become career-threatening. But after getting cleared by specialists earlier this year, Olave said he’s excited to resume his career. And Monday was a big step in his comeback, albeit one that was more mental than physical, as he largely avoided any major contact during the 90-minute workout.
“It’s been a long time, man,” he said. “It’s been just watching from the sideline, watching from the stands. It feels like a long time, but it’s only been like nine months. But just with me wanting to get back on that field, it was tough for me.”
Olave is not running from his health issues. He’s facing them, for lack of a better term, head on.
He’s changed his diet to, as he said, improve his “brain health” and changed his helmet. He is wearing the Riddell Axiom 3D, the NFL’s top-rated helmet for reducing head impact severity. And like the rest of his teammates, he is wearing a Guardian cap during practice, although he said he doesn’t plan to wear one during games.
What won’t change, he said, is his mindset and playing style. Olave said he plans to run every pattern in the route tree, including crossers, seams and posts that take him into harm’s way. The only concession to his injury history, he said, will be to avoid unnecessary contact by getting down quicker after receptions.
“If I go out there nervous or go out there a little scared, it’s going to make me play a little slower and make me play worse, so I’m not really scared to get hit,” he said. “I’m not scared to go over the middle. I’m not scared to do none of that.”
So far, Olave has lived up to his word. Early in camp, he went up high to snare a pass from Spencer Rattler on a crossing route over the middle of the field during seven-on-seven drills. Safety Justin Reid zeroed in on him but slid past at the last instant without making contact. Olave knows things would have been different in full-contact work.
During team drills a few days later, Olave took a handoff on a jet sweep and raced left to the sideline with a mob of defenders in hot pursuit. As he turned upfield, linebacker Pete Werner leveled him with a massive hit that smashed him to the ground. Several of his offensive teammates took exception to the hit, which came during non-contact drills.
This is how it’s going to be for Olave. Every big hit or violent tackle is going to be a hold-your-breath moment for teammates, coaches, fans and maybe even Olave himself.
“Obviously, no one wants to get a big hit, but it comes with the game,” said veteran receiver Brandin Cooks, who endured concussion issues of his own early in his career. “Instead of having that anxiety about it, just knowing and accepting that it’s going to come with the game and then everything else will take care of itself.”
It’s a big year for Olave. The Saints are counting on him to be the go-to receiver for their young quarterbacks, and he needs a productive, injury-free season to re-establish himself among the premier NFL receivers.
Before missing nine games last season, Olave was enjoying one of the strongest starts of any receiver in Saints history. With a total of 159 receptions and 2,165 yards in 2022 and 2023, he became only the third Saints receiver to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in his first two seasons, joining Michael Thomas and Marques Colston.
The Saints picked up the fifth-year option on his contract this offseason, so, barring a trade, he’ll be with the club for at least two more seasons. But a life-changing, long-term extension like the four-year, $130 million deal his former Ohio State teammate, Garrett Wilson, signed with the New York Jets this year is on hold. Olave knows he needs to produce and stay injury-free to score a similar payday.
“It’s kind of obvious, just with my injury history (and) all the concussions, I mean, of course they’re going to be questionable about my future and all that stuff,” he said. “So (I’m) just trying to make it obvious on the field every day, just trying to dominate everybody, be the best player on the field and go into the season and try to play every game, really play 17 games so it’s going to be easy on them to make that decision when we get to the table.”
His teammates and coaches say Olave is in a good space right now, and his mindset has been impressive. He’s focused on making the most of his comeback and is facing the future with eyes wide open.
“He’s definitely out for redemption,” said Rashid Shaheed, who starts opposite Olave at the other receiver spot. “He feels like that he didn’t have the year that he wanted to have last year. I think that he’s mentally ready and physically ready for the biggest year for his career.”
Getting through his first full-contact practice was a significant milestone. There will be more hurdles to clear along the way, but after nine months on the sideline, Olave knows small steps are better than no steps at all.