Throughout 2025, the New Orleans Saints have dealt with extensive injury issues. In previous seasons, the injuries this team sustained could be attributed to practice or injury-prevention issues. This season, injury luck has not been on the Saints’ side, and much of it has been unavoidable.
WR Chris Olave Ruled Out for Week 18
Sometimes, a player may take a hit or make a move that knocks them out for an extended period of time, and that’s just what happens on the field. Other times, sickness comes into play, and that’s the case for the Saints’ star playmaker.
On yesterday’s injury report, Star WR Chris Olave unexpectedly popped up with a sickness, but at the time, there was little concern. A bug has been going around the Saints building for the past couple of weeks, so assuming that was the case for Olave’s absence made sense. Instead, it was something much worse.
Per Nick Underhill of neworleans.football, Olave has been ruled out of Week 18 with a blood clot that was discovered in the WR’s lung.
Chris Olave will be out this week, per source. A blood clot was detected in his lung. Got caught early before anything bad could happen and will be fine. But not playing this week.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) January 1, 2026
A blood clot is extremely dangerous if left undetected, but in Olave’s case, it was detected early enough. It’s excellent news that Olave will be fine and that there are no future concerns about this blood clot, but on the field, this is obviously not what the star WR and New Orleans wanted to hear going into Week 18.
After returning from his devastating concussions last season, Olave has spoken very openly about overcoming those scares. Retirement was a potential option for the young playmaker, but he decided against it. It was very important to Olave to avoid concussions and stay on the field for a whole season, and he was one game away.
On the Saints’ side of this conversation, being without Olave on Sunday will be a challenge for HC Kellen Moore and QB Tyler Shough. After moving on from Rashid Shaheed and Brandin Cooks earlier in the season, New Orleans’ WR depth took a significant hit. Once WR Devaughn Vele was also ruled out for the rest of the season, Olave was the only starter left in that room.
Looking at Olave’s role in the offense, he has been the primary weapon all season. According to PFSN’s WR Impact Metric, Olave is 3rd in targets and 7th in touchdowns among all WRs. He is a top WR in the NFL, and without him, the Saints’ options are limited.