Chris Olave’s Fifth-Year Option Picked Up By New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are keeping one of their most promising players around for a bit longer. On Wednesday, the franchise announced they will pick up the fifth-year option of Wide Receiver Chris Olave. This will keep him under contract through the 2026 season. Despite missing a majority of the 2024 campaign with a concussion and having suffered four since entering the league in 2022, the move hints that both Olave and the team expect him to be back at full strength this season.

The wideout will make just over $15 million in 2025. A nice payday for a guy of his caliber. While he missed nine games last season and was limited to just 32 catches for 400 yards and a touchdown, his first two seasons in the league saw him surpass 1,000 yards both times. He became the team’s No. 1 wide receiver in the process.

Olave’s Career At a Glance

Spending four seasons at Ohio State playing under Head Coach Ryan Day, Olave’s final two seasons are what made him a top prospect. He earned First-Team All-Big-Ten honors in 2020 and 2021. His strong college career led him to be highly touted ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, where he was selected 11th overall by the Saints. Despite starting only nine games his rookie year, the team wasted no time having him be a big part of their game plan as he played in 15 games by the time the season ended. After his rookie season, where he caught 72 passes for 1,042 yards and 4 touchdowns, he was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

From then on, the Saints offense was built around having Olave be the top pass-catching option. He improved with 87 catches for 1,123 yards and 5 touchdowns in his second season. He did that in 16 games with only 11 starts. Dealing with his injury issues during those seasons, he still proved why the Saints were wise to invest so much in him.

How Healthy Is Olave?

Concussions are tricky, but to suffer multiple so close together early in one’s career can create issues down the line. But lucky for Olave, he is hoping his injury history is a thing of the past. In February, Olave spoke about his current status and said he feels as close to 100% as he can be. He said he is lucky to not be feeling any post-concussion symptoms anymore. This is massive news for a Saints team with more questions than answers heading into the season. Most notably what to do about the quarterback position given Derek Carr’s injury status.

If Olave is healthy though, that would be huge for the team. With the possibility that a rookie quarterback will be on the team in 2025, having a young star like Olave could be huge in helping the new quarterback learn the ropes. The Saints used to be one of the best teams in the NFC, and while they are still a ways away from getting back there, having Olave back and healthy is a good first step.

Final Thoughts

The Saints are in full rebuild mode, but in exercising the fifth-year option, they now have a star they can try and build around. During the Drew Brees era, the team had Michael Thomas. By keeping Olave around, the franchise hopes he can be their new Thomas. Ready for a big year, Olave could be one to watch throughout the 2025 season.