Ted Ginn Jr. is retired from the NFL, even if he looks like he could probably still play, but he found himself back on the sidelines at Saints minicamp this week.
He hasn't been hired as an assistant coach, at least not officially, and it's still unknown whether he'll be back around during training camp. But the former Ohio State and Saints WR is lending a hand in a wide receiver in a room with receivers who grew up watching him.
"Another veteran presence that’s played for us," Dennis Allen said, "that kind of understands how we do things. And we think he can be a benefit for us in the wide receiver room.”
The Saints have brought several former players back in coaching capacities over the last several seasons, most recently Jahri Evans, who replaced Zach Strief in an assistant OL coach role.
Ginn played for the Saints from 2017-'19, appearing in 36 games and catching exactly 100 passes for 1,417 yards and 8 touchdowns. Ginn was the starter alongside Michael Thomas during his record-setting campaign in 2019. But an up-and-coming star in the New Orleans wide receiver room remembers him as the standard bearer for the Buckeyes long before he got there. One of Ginn's biggest catches in a Saints uniform came on a 43-yard catch as the clock ticked down to the 2-minute warning in the 2018 NFC Championship, a play that is largely forgotten because of the controversial no call that occurred just a few plays later. He also had an 8-catch performance in a similarly devastating playoff loss to the Vikings a year earlier.
"It’s huge," Olave said. "I looked up to him when I was younger, watching him on TV. He came way before me, so it was always the standard to be behind him. He set the standard high."
Ginn was also a standout kick returner for the Buckeyes, a large part of what landed him at No. 9 overall in the draft. It's possible he could also impart some wisdom in that regard to return aces like Rashid Shaheed and Malik Flowers, though he had largely finished the returning part of his career by the time he joined the Saints.
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Olave has somewhat followed Ginn's path from Columbus to New Orleans, though Ginn had stops with the Dolphins, 49ers, Panthers and Cardinals first. As the former first-round pick aims to build on a strong rookie campaign in year 2, he'll be able to lean on Ginn as he does it.
"I always wanted to have a play style like him," Olave said. "And just to have him be out there and help us and coach us, definitely helping me.”
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