Saints Dodge a Bullet: Chris Olave Expected to Play Against Ravens
Adam Schefter reported that Olave is expected to play despite the questionable tag.
The are officially dodging a massive bullet. Wide receiver is expected to play Sunday against the despite carrying a questionable tag into the weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
This is the exact kind of late-week injury news that makes fantasy managers and bettors stare blankly at their phones. Olave popped up on the Thursday injury report with a hamstring issue, which is usually the NFL equivalent of the check engine light turning on during a road trip.
Instead, it looks like it was just a precautionary breather. That is a massive relief for a offense that would otherwise be walking into a buzzsaw without its best weapon.
For context on how much the Saints need him, just look at last week. Olave absolutely torched the Detroit Lions for 10 catches and 182 yards on 13 targets. They still lost 31-30, but he was the only reason they were breathing in the fourth quarter.
Now they get a defense that just dismantled the 41-23. The Ravens are sitting as 8.5-point favorites, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey has already been talking about getting to the stadium early just to prep for this passing attack.
If Olave had actually sat this one out, that 8.5-point spread would have looked like a polite suggestion rather than a real line. The are already sweating out a calf injury for defensive end , so losing their top receiver would have been catastrophic.
We will see exactly how much that hamstring limits his top-end speed once the game kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET. But if you are , a slightly tight is still infinitely better than whatever Plan B was supposed to be.