METAIRIE, La. \u2014 Chris Olave, the New Orleans Saints leading receiver in two of his first three seasons, wanted to make two things clear.<\/p>\n
He is not concerned about the long-term implications of repeated concussions and sees himself spending his entire career with New Orleans. <\/p>\n
Olave has been a full participant in non-contact, offseason practices and this week’s mandatory minicamp, but has not played in an NFL game since last Nov. 3. That was the day he was leveled by Panthers safety Xavier Woods during a downfield route across the middle of the field.<\/p>\n
Olave remained in a prone position on the field for several minutes, after which he was taken from the stadium to a Charlotte hospital.<\/p>\n
While he was permitted to return to practice in December, he never returned to the lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tough, man, at first.; I ain\u2019t never really sat out that long,” Olave said after practice on Wednesday. “That was really my first major injury. … Just not being able to go and practice and go to meetings with my guys was the worst part, but I feel like I\u2019m ready. I was training and lifting and everything in December. So, I feel like I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olave has had at least four confirmed concussions in his first three seasons. The first occurred when he was a rookie in 2022 during an Oct. 9 game against Seattle. He missed just the following game and finished the season with team highs of 72 catches for 1,042 yards.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) goes through drills during practice at NFL football minicamp in Metairie, La., Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Credit: AP\/Gerald Herbert<\/p>\n
During the 2023 season, he did not miss a game after a Week 12 concussion against Atlanta and finished that season with team highs of 87 catches and 1,123 yards receiving.<\/p>\n
Last season, however, he missed nine games because of two concussions. He sat out just one game after his first against Tampa Bay on Oct. 13 before the Nov. 3 one in Carolina ended his third NFL season.<\/p>\n
Olave consulted with specialists after the most recent head injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said I was OK back in December when they cleared me. It was just unlucky situations I was being put in,\u201d Olave said. “God\u2019s got me at the end of the day. I\u2019m not worried about nothing. So, just got to go out there 100% and be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) goes through drills during practice at NFL football minicamp in Metairie, La., Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Credit: AP\/Gerald Herbert<\/p>\n
Saints rookie coach Kellen Moore, hired in February after winning a Super Bowl with Philadelphia as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, has largely brushed aside questions about Olave’s concussion history. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t worry too much about that,” Moore said. “We feel really really good about Chris. He\u2019s had an excellent offseason, an excellent career so far and (has) an excellent future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel like we\u2019ve got a good one in him,\u201d Moore added.<\/p>\n
So, apparently, do some other teams who’ve reportedly asked the Saints about their willingness to trade Olave as New Orleans rebuilds from a five-win 2024 season.<\/p>\n
The Saints also have lacked a proven quarterback since veteran Derek Carr’s sudden retirement in May.<\/p>\n
All three of New Orleans current QBs have less than three season of experience and not a single NFL win. But Olave expressed optimism about those young QBs \u2014 rookie Tyler Shough, second-year pro Spencer Rattler and third-year pro Jake Haener.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe young QBs are good,\u201d Olave said. \u201cI don’t think they’re going to come in and have hiccups. I feel like they got a good head on their shoulders. They got a good IQ. They’re ready to play NFL ball. So, I’m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olave also laughed off reports that he’s the subject of trade offers. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all rumors, man,\u201d Olave said. \u201cIn the offseason, everybody\u2019s trying to have something for clicks. So, I love it here. I love the front office. I love my coaches. I\u2019m excited to be here and I want to be here forever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"METAIRIE, La. \u2014 Chris Olave, the New Orleans Saints leading receiver in two of his first three seasons,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,896,55,2572,2571,6,397,2309],"class_list":{"0":"post-122548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-orleans","10":"tag-new-orleans-saints","11":"tag-neworleans","12":"tag-neworleanssaints","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-saints","15":"tag-wires-bot"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114667279124359242","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}