Chris Olave has missed almost half of the season with a head injury, and it was uncertain if he would return this year. There seems to be good news regarding him, as the Saints noted in their injury report that if they had practiced on Christmas, he would have been a full participant.
With that news alone, there’s a good chance that Olave could return in the Saints’ next matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Saints will gladly appreciate his return, as they’ve dealt with several injuries to the offense over the past few weeks, and the team has suffered because of it.
Chris Olave close to returning for Saints
Chris Olave was hurt against the Carolina Panthers earlier this year and had to go to the hospital for further evaluation. He was released from the hospital later that day, but the injury was already concerning for the wide receiver since it was his second concussion in four weeks. In their Week 6 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Olave had to leave the game because of a concussion.
Unfortunately for Olave, these weren’t the first concussions of his career. He suffered a concussion during his rookie season in 2022 in Week 5 and missed the following game. He was then removed from a Week 12 game against the Atlanta Falcons last year with a concussion but played the next week.
Olave had recently switched helmets instead of wearing a Guardian Cap in games.
“I just felt like I had changed my helmet to the best helmet so the hit I took in the game, it didn’t really hurt as much as it did with the other helmet,” Olave said. “Once I switched helmets, I felt like I’d be good without the Guardian Cap.”
The Saints placed Olave on injured reserve after his second concussion this season and haven’t rushed him on coming back. It looks like he’s ready to return, and it should be a plus to the offense as they need some type of spark. Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara will not be returning for the rest of the season as they’ve suffered injuries late in the year, and that means the young players will be getting a bulk of the minutes on the field.
Interm coach Darren Rizzi has done a good job leading this group since taking over for Dennis Allen, and it will be interesting to see if he is a lead candidate for the job in the offseason.
