New Orleans Saints' Chris Olave Gets Scary Diagnosis Ahead of Falcons Game

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints are going to be shorthanded for their Week 18 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday due to a scary development with wide receiver Chris Olave.

According to New Orleans Football Network host Nick Underhill, the Saints will be without Olave for their season finale due to a blood clot in his lung. Thankfully, the wideout reportedly caught the issue before anything bad could happen, but he will be unavailable against the Falcons.

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Olave posted the following photo on his personal Instagram.

Chris Olave posts on IG pic.twitter.com/uxzlQ0LeMY
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) January 1, 2026

With Olave and the rest of the Saints' offense seemingly finding its groove over recent weeks, the team has won each of its last four games heading into Week 18. A lot of that has to do with the outstanding performance of the wideout.

Olave will wrap his season with career highs across the board, finishing with 100 catches for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns. He did all of this despite dealing with a back injury over the last month. In that span, Olave accounted for 27 catches for 382 yards and four touchdowns.

“He's very talented, very skilled, has been since he came into the National Football League,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday about Olave. “He has all the movement, all the hands, all the ball skills. Everything you want from your No. 1 receiver, and he's done great [this season].”

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Without Olave, the Saints do not have a wideout on their roster with more than 300 yards receiving, and nobody comes close to his nine receiving touchdowns or 156 catches. The next highest-targeted player is tight end Juwan Johnson, who has 74 catches for 828 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Aside from Johnson, the options are nonexistent.

Devaughn Vele landed on the injured reserve, Rashid Shaheed was traded to the Seahawks, running back Alvin Kamara has been plagued with injuries, and Brandon Cooks was released by the Saints in November. Their leading wide receiver is Kevin Austin Jr., who has just nine catches for 103 yards and a touchdown, all of which have come in his last three games.

The Saints appear to be dealing with several injuries heading into this week’s matchup. They had a long list of prominent players on their injury report, per Mike Triplett, headlined by Olave, Alvin Kamara, Bryan Bresee, and more.

A long list of absences from Saints practice during the portion open to media Thursday:

WR Chris Olave, RB Alvin Kamara, WR Mason Tipton, TE Jack Stoll, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, DT Bryan Bresee, DT Davon Godchaux (typical rest day), DT Nathan Shepherd, DB Michael Davis.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) January 1, 2026

Kickoff between the Falcons and Saints is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and it will be the season finale for both franchises.