Chris Olave made his long-awaited return to New Orleans Saints practice this week.
The star WR was cleared for football on the field on Thursday for the first time since Week 9 when he was carted off due to a major head injury early on during a loss to the Carolina Panthers. Olave was placed on injured reserve the following week as he sought multiple opinions from specialists to assess his options after the latest in a series of concussions since joining the NFL.
Olave was in uniform but appeared to be off to the side with trainers catching passes during the portion of practice open to the media.
"He had significant time off so we’re gonna kind of take it step-by-step for him, but I couldn’t be happier for him and more as a person than a football player," interim head coach Darren Rizzi said after Thursday's practice. "Really, really excited about him. He was in a great mood today, all smiles, and for those that were out there probably saw him running around, that’s great.”
With the return window opened the Saints would have up to 21 days to potentially add Olave to the active roster, meaning he could practice the rest of the year without taking up a roster spot. That's not an unlikely scenario with the Saints all but eliminated from playoff contention with three games left to play.
Olave's return has felt more and more likely with the third-year pro becoming more and more present around the team. He had been spotted at practices during recent weeks and has been on the sidelines for each of the past three games, including during the Week 14 road trip to face the New York Giants. Olave had also been sitting in on team meetings over the past several weeks.
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The next question becomes whether the return to practice will lead to a return to game action. Rizzi said they'll take things day by day and it will likely be left up to Olave as to the final steps before he returns to the field. It's unlikely that comes in Week 16, if at all this season.
“This is his first day back, so we’re gonna get him back into the swing of things and do a little bit more every day. I’m just so happy for the person, for Chris, that here he is, got the thumbs up, can resume football activities and honestly we’re gonna leave that up to Chris," Rizzi said. "I’m gonna see where he is, how he feels every day, make sure there’s no setbacks, but I’m gonna say to say that he would play Monday night would be a little bit aggressive.”
The Saints' remaining schedule includes a trip out to Green Bay for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Packers, a home game against the Las Vegas Raiders and a road matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out the season.
The Saints are also handling injury concerns for QB Derek Carr and RB Alvin Kamara, neither of whom participated during Thursday's practice, the first of the week.