Week 12 was a disaster for the New Orleans Saints. Not only did they lose on the road to the Atlanta Falcons, but they suffered a rash of injuries on both sides of the ball. Arguably their biggest loss was wide receiver Chris Olave.
With fellow wide receiver Michael Thomas being placed on injured reserve early last week, Olave assumed the unquestioned No. 1 role in the team’s passing offense. He was off to an excellent start against the Falcons, catching seven passes for 114 yards before disaster struck.
Olave went airborne trying to catch a pass on the Saints sideline in the third quarter. After coming down, he stayed on the ground for a little bit and was immediately attended to by the team’s training staff. They took him into the blue medical tent but he was eventually taken to the locker room for more evaluations and did not return to the field.
The NFL has put an emphasis on injuries in recent seasons, as players are not returning to the field if there are any signs of a concussion being suffered. When officially diagnosed with one, rarely is that player able to return to the field even for a game the following week.
Jesse Morse of the Fantasy Doctors on X, formerly known as Twitter, offered some more insight as well. This concussion is a concern for the Saints star as it is at least his third documented one that we know of.
Morse noted there is no evidence of this, but sometimes, when multiple concussions occur, they can stack on top of the previous one, leading to a longer recovery time. Luckily for Olave, he has gone over a year in between his concussions, so the stacking may not be as much of an issue.
The most concerning note that Morse shared is how infrequently players are back on the field the following week. According to Morse, only 25-33 percent return, which is bad news for the Saints as their depth at wide receiver is being tested.
Along with the Olave injury, Rashid Shaheed was also injured against the Falcons. He suffered a left quad injury in the second quarter that forced him out of the game. Shaheed was battling through something earlier in the game as well but it eventually became too much and he was sidelined for the remainder of the afternoon.
Potentially without their top three wide receivers in Week 13, the Saints could have some problems moving the ball through the air. Luckily for them, their schedule softens up as the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants, their next three opponents, all have vulnerable pass defenses.
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