Saints’ WR room has fans puzzled amid Chris Olave concussion, injury woes

The New Orleans Saints are beset by injuries, particularly to their wide receivers. Most notably, Chris Olave is out for Week 10 because of the concussion he sustained last week, his second of the season and third over the past year. Wide receivers Rashid Shaheed and Bub Means are already on injured reserve. Cedrick Wilson Jr. is listed as out because of a shoulder injury. This leaves three players available for the Saints at receiver: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mason Tipton and Jermaine Jackson.

The Saints have wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown, Kevin Austin Jr and Dante Pettis on the practice squad, but none have been activated to the roster.

Saints spiraling without clear next steps

Like New Orleans’ approach to the salary cap, they appear to be kicking the can down the road on the 2024 season. General manager Mickey Loomis was vague in his response to what the team’s plans were for the future and for a new head coach.

“That’s not something that we’re gonna be real active with right now. There’s plenty of time for that when the season ends,” Loomis declared. “Our focus has got to be on our team, our players, our coaches, and our staff. You learn more about who you have and the people you’re working with in adversity than you do when things are going well.

“As much as Katrina and that whole experience was difficult back in 2005, we learned a lot about the people that were with the Saints at that time. It drove a lot of decisions after that. So look, this is adversity, this is tough. It’s no fun losing games. It’s, you know, I can’t describe to you, how bad our fans feel.

“Believe me, we’re all feeling 10 times worse but you can’t just wallow in that. You have to get up off the mat and show some fight. That’s true for every single person in this building. We are gonna see what we’ve got over the next eight weeks.”

What all that means, or what Hurricane Katrina has to do with the Saints right now, for a franchise on a seven-game losing streak is anyone’s guess.

The Saints have over $48M in dead cap space next season, the most in the NFL, and carry a $51.5M cap hit for the 33-year-old Derek Carr. He is signed through 2026 after signing a four-year, $150 million contract in March 2023.

New Orleans is also responsible for two other contracts with a $20M+ cap hit next year: RT Ryan Ramczyk ($29M) and DE Cameron Jordan ($20M).

The Saints host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10 on Sunday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. EST.