The Saints have officially placed Chris Olave on injured reserve. The third-year wideout will miss at least the first four games as a result, although his availability for the remainder of the season is in question.
Olave is dealing with his second concussion of the season, which also represents his fourth in less than three full campaigns in the NFL. The 24-year-old’s visits with specialists will determine his next steps, but for at least the immediate future he will be unavailable to the 2-7 Saints as they begin life with Darren Rizzi as head coach. New Orleans has already lost fellow WR starter Rashid Shaheed for the season.
Olave is under contract through 2025 as things stand, but his fifth-year option for the following season could be exercised this spring. A decision on that front – or any approach with respect to a long-term extension, of course – will be dictated in large part by the Ohio State product’s prognosis. Given how far the Saints are from postseason contention along with the long-term approach being taken by team and player, attention will increasingly turn toward Olave’s Week 1 availability in 2025.
New Orleans will have a pair of returnees in the lineup for Week 10, however. The team also announced on Saturday that offensive lineman Shane Lemieux has been activated from IR. The 27-year-old took over as the first-team option at center once Erik McCoy was injured; McCoy has been ruled out for tomorrow’s contest, so Lemieux could reprise that role now that he is healthy. If not, he will be an option in the middle but also at guard as the Saints look to establish a consistent lineup along the O-line to close out the year.
Safety Will Harris has also been activated from IR. A hamstring injury led him to injured reserve roughly one month ago, interrupting his debut campaign in New Orleans. Harris started each of his five appearances prior to going down, serving in a first-team role after he did so during parts of his five-year Lions tenure. Harris, 28, will look to aid a defense which ranks 27th against the pass this season.
These moves will leave the Saints with five IR activations on the year. Bringing Olave back into the fold at some point would lower that figure, but it appears signficant progress will need to be made in his recovery for that to become a consideration.
