The New Orleans Saints will be undermanned in the WR room for Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, and that won't change any time soon.
Saints WR Rashid Shaheed is headed to California this week for evaluation on a knee injury suffered during the 4th quarter of a loss to the Bucs. Head coach Dennis Allen revealed on Wednesday that it's a meniscus issue and will likely require surgery, but the timetable is still an unknown.
“I think there’s a couple of different options and so I think that’s what we’re trying to determine right now,” Allen said.
Shaheed was on pace for a career year in his third NFL season and had carved out a significant role in Klint Kubiak's offense. His absence will also be felt in the return game where he handles significant work on punts and kickoffs. The second punt return TD of the year against the Bucs helped the Saints overcome an early 17-point deficit in Week 6.
The Saints will also be without WR Chris Olave, who is still in the concussion protocol.
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That means the Saints will be without their top two pass-catchers who have combined for 43 receptions, 629 yards and 4 touchdowns. The rest of the WR room has combined for 14 catches and 126 yards over the first six weeks of the seasons. The Saints will be relying on a rookie backup quarterback in Spencer Rattler when they host the Broncos on Thursday Night Football, whose top two options will likely by rookies Bub Means and Mason Tipton.
“Any time you have guys that go down it’s an opportunity or somebody else," Allen said, "so we have guys that will have an opportunity to step up and play and we’re counting on them to step up and play well.”
The Saints (2-4) host the Broncos (3-3) on Thursday night at the Caesars Superdome. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.