The Saints took a cautious route with Chris Olave on Wednesday, giving the receiver the day off from practice after he absorbed a hard hit late in Monday’s loss to the Falcons.
Olave was slow to rise after taking the shot from Atlanta linebacker and former LSU standout Harold Perkins with two minutes left. Even so, coach Kellen Moore made it clear the Saints were treating the absence as rest, not injury.
Moore was asked multiple times about Olave’s condition and kept repeating the same message: this was not a knee issue.
New Orleans had only a walkthrough in the afternoon after playing a night game, so the lighter workload fit the schedule. Still, the Saints were missing several other familiar names.
Alvin Kamara sat out with back soreness, while wide receiver Barion Brown (thigh), edge rusher Anfernee Jennings (knee) and linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf) also missed practice. Jennings and Elliss were already working back from injuries.
There was better news on the other side of the injury report. Defensive end Carl Granderson (ankle) and tight end Noah Fant (abdomen) both returned to participate after sitting out the Falcons game.
Moore also revisited the end of Monday’s blowout, when the Saints trailed 45-17 on their final drive. He said he had considered pulling his starters “a little bit,” but he also said he liked the way his team kept fighting.
“Just trying to get ourselves an opportunity to just play some clean football at the end of the game,” Moore said when asked why he kept in the starters.
On Kamara, Moore said the running back told the training staff he was feeling back soreness, which was separate from the knee injury that forced him out of Monday’s game.
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