Don’t look for Chris Olave to play in Sunday’s first New Orleans Saints preseason game. The star wide receiver tweaked his ankle in Thursday’s practice, and while he returned to finish the session after having it taped up the team is taking an abundance of caution with him. He was held out of Friday’s practice session as a precaution, and didn’t catch a pass until Jake Haener floated a throw out of bounds, where Olave snagged it on the sideline.
He’ll be back soon enough. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reported that the injury is “insignificant” and the team views him as “day to day.”
Unsurprisingly, Rashid Shaheed filled in well as the WR1. The speedster added about ten pounds of muscle this offseason and worked on expanding his route tree, and his hard work is paying off. He capped the first drive of the scrimmage with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Rattler. Shaheed is playing in a contract year, and if he can see it through, he could earn a lucrative contract in the spring.
But back to Olave. Even if this is a minor injury, it’s going to get overanalyzed given his injury history. He’s dealt with a series of concussions in recent years and missed a lot of time. Hopefully he gets back out there as quickly as expected and plays a big role in a successful season for New Orleans.