{"id":232321,"date":"2025-07-24T12:37:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/232321\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T12:37:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:37:14","slug":"saints-wr-chris-olave-content-to-wait-on-contract-extension-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/232321\/","title":{"rendered":"Saints WR Chris Olave content to wait on contract extension | Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Olave<\/a> was happy to see the New York Jets pay Garrett Wilson. The two were teammates at Ohio State, and the New Orleans Saints wide receiver said he could tell almost instantly that Garrett would be \u201cdestined for greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Garrett\u2019s new contract reflects that journey \u2014 four years, $130 million. With an average of $32.5 million per year, the Jets made Garrett the fifth-highest-paid wide receiver. It was the kind of deal that could set the market for Olave, who was drafted the same year as his former teammate.<\/p>\n

But talks of his own contract extension will have to wait, Olave said.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing off the season I had, I was out for the year, I\u2019m not really looking at it right now,\u201d Olave said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve got to prove myself to be able to get that type of money or to get that type of deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olave\u2019s injury history, of course, explains why the wide receiver \u2014 and the Saints \u2014 would take a wait-and-see approach before negotiating over such a heavy financial commitment.<\/p>\n

Olave has had four concussions throughout his first three seasons, and two last year caused him to miss nine games. Despite getting medical clearance to continue playing, and despite two straight 1,000-yard seasons to begin his career, Olave likely doesn\u2019t have the leverage to seek a top-of-market contract. And from the Saints\u2019 perspective, it would make sense if the team wants to see if Olave can make it through another year before beginning talks.<\/p>\n

Olave said he wants to \u201cmake it easy\u201d on the Saints to offer such a deal. But nothing about Olave\u2019s last season was easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to make it obvious,\u201d Olave said.<\/p>\n

It was obvious, at times, that Olave was arguably the best player on the field when the Saints started training camp. He made a leaping catch over the middle of the field on a soaring pass from Spencer Rattler. And he was precise with his route running, even on passes that didn\u2019t go his way.<\/p>\n

The Saints, it seems, have no reservations about using Olave in a way that maximizes his skill set. If that involves targeting the 25-year-old across the middle \u2014 where wide receivers can be punished \u2014 then the quarterbacks will go to him.<\/p>\n

Both general manager Mickey Loomis and coach Kellen Moore said Olave was cleared to practice without restrictions, adding he\u2019d be in the mix when the pads come on next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s full go,\u201d Loomis said.<\/p>\n

Olave, too, said his mindset hasn\u2019t changed even after his concussions. He\u2019s not scared of getting hit, he said. Nor will he avoid going over the middle, which he said was a strength of his game.<\/p>\n

Instead, Olave said he will prioritize getting down faster to avoid taking unnecessary hits. And he added that he has changed his diet, which he hopes will keep him healthier over the course of the season.<\/p>\n

Asked about the possibility of wearing a guardian cap, Olave said he considered the idea, but told reporters that helmets have been so \u201cupdated\u201d that he doesn\u2019t feel it\u2019s necessary. He said he\u2019s consulted with trainers so that he\u2019s wearing the \u201cNo. 1\u201d helmet available, though said he doesn\u2019t know the brand of helmet that he now dons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good,\u201d Olave said. \u201cI\u2019m excited about the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olave also wants to stick with the Saints for the long haul. He made that clear in June when he laughed off trade rumors and told reporters that he wanted to be with the Saints \u201cforever.\u201d He reiterated a similar message Wednesday when he said that he wanted to stay for \u201ca long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Saints, too, have expressed a desire to keep Olave. Even without an extension, the Saints picked up Olave\u2019s fifth-year option this offseason that guarantees Olave a projected $16 million in 2026. Without it, Olave would have been entering a contract year in which he could have hit free agency after the season.<\/p>\n

Regardless, next season figures to be pivotal for Olave.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be easy on them to make that (contract) decision when we get to the table,\u201d Olave said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Olave was happy to see the New York Jets pay Garrett Wilson. The two were teammates at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,4095,896,55,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-232321","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-hardwall","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanssaints","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-saints"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114908250198099003","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232321","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=232321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}