A 45-24 beating at the hands of Atlanta on the day of their Domecoming anniversary was bad enough for the Saints. Nearly losing Chris Olave in garbage time almost made it a nightmare.
With under two minutes on the clock, Olave took a direct shot to his left knee on a quick hitch, hobbling off the field to cap off a 116-yard night. Early signs indicate he dodged a major bullet.
The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov confirmed that Olave appeared perfectly fine in the post-game handshakes.
“Olave appeared to be fine during postgame handshakes,” wrote Meirov on X.
Even head coach Sean Payton said that Olave was “ok” in his post-game conference. But that was it. A brief one-word brush-off for what could have been their biggest injury coming out of Week 4.
Olave still caught 8-of-12 targets for 116 yards before heading out.
That said, walking off under your own power is one thing; waking up the next morning with a knee swollen like a grapefruit is another.
The official word is yet to come in, leaving New Orleans holding its breath. Soft-tissue and knee trauma are notorious for hiding the real damage until overnight inflammation sets in, meaning the Saints aren’t out of the woods until the MRI results actually clear.
Saints HC Kellen Moore Could Have Easily Avoided the Call
If it does turn out to be something big, head coach Kellen Moore will be under even more fire than he already is.
The optics of Moore running his top receiver trailing 45-17. Down 28 points under the two-minute mark, Moore had no business leaving his top weapon in harm’s way. Dialing up garbage-time hitches for Olave in a decided game is pure gambling with the top of your depth chart
Travis Etienne is already on IR, and the inactives list was also quite extensive entering the Falcons game. Both starting linebackers Kaden Elliss and Pete Werner are injured, with Elliss officially out and Werner still questionable (he played vs. the Falcons, but still wasn’t at 100%).
Noah Fant, Carl Granderson, and Anfernee Jennings were also all out, making the offensive line entirely dependent on the second-string. On the defense, CB Deamerion Richardson & DL Christen Miller were also inactive, and making matters worse, Za’Darius Smith left early in the first quarter due to a neck injury/ potential concussion.
If Olave goes out for their Week 5 showdown vs. the Vikings, Shough loses his go-to target. Plus, they’re bleeding depth. Losing Etienne to IR and having three starting front-seven defensive pieces out at once leaves their defense gasping for air.
Vikings Are Sailing on the Same Boat with WR Justin Jefferson Injury
Jefferson suffered an ankle sprain early in Week 3 against Tampa Bay and sat out Minnesota’s Week 4 win over Miami.
He’s progressing, but head coach Kevin O’Connell is taking a “day-to-day” medical approach. With Minnesota’s Week 6 bye right around the corner, there is a very real chance the Vikings play it safe and hold him out one more week.
Facing a healthy Justin Jefferson on a short week would have been an absolute nightmare for the Saints defense.
Olave’s status is a headache, but Minnesota has a full-blown migraine with Justin Jefferson’s ankle. If the Vikings hold their star wideout through their upcoming bye, New Orleans gets to dodge the NFL’s most dangerous weapon right when its own beat-up secondary needs a breather.
Saints HC Kellen Moore Under Fire for Reckless Chris Olave Call in Blowout Loss vs. Falcons