Olave exited Sunday’s game early in the contest with a concussion and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Given the fact that concussions don’t go away over a span of four days, it’s safe to assume that Olave will be out for New Orleans’ Thursday night clash with the Broncos. As such, it’s not a surprise to see him listed as a DNP on Monday’s estimated practice report.
The surprise addition to the list, however, is Rashid Shaheed, who has been the Saints’ most productive wide receiver through six weeks. It’s a knee injury for the lightning-in-a-bottle pass catcher and punt returner, and the most recent reports indicate that it’s ‘concerning’. We didn’t come up with that term to describe it, but it certainly is concerning for Shaheed considering he was in line to start the short week as the Saints’ clear No. 1 receiver. All we can count on for now is more information later today, but fantasy managers holding out hope can hang their hats on the fact that Monday’s injury report was just an estimation. Should Shaheed miss any time, rookie WR Bub Means and Mason Tipton would be in line for increased work in the receiving game catching passes from – you guessed it – rookie QB Spencer Rattler. Denver is one of the toughest matchups for passing offenses in the NFL, though they are expected to be down their top corner in Patrick Surtain II, who’s dealing with a concussion of his own. There will be plenty of better options available than Means and co. for fantasy lineups in Week 7, and fantasy managers should temper expectations for the Saints offense overall this Thursday.