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Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff Writer
METAIRIE, La. — New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave will consult with specialists after sustaining his second concussion of the season.
Olave did not practice Wednesday after taking a hit to his head from Carolina Panthers safety Xavier Woods while attempting to catch a pass Sunday. Olave was knocked to the ground after the hit and was taken out of the stadium on a backboard to be evaluated at a local hospital in Charlotte. He was released before the end of Sunday’s game and flew home with the team.
“Thank God. Always keep ya faith & never let people tell you what you can and can’t do,” Olave posted on his Instagram account on Tuesday. “It’s a lot worse goin on in the world than whatever you goin thru so be grateful for what you got before it’s taken away from you. Tough times never last …”
Interim head coach Darren Rizzi, who took on that role after Dennis Allen was fired after Sunday’s loss, said Wednesday the team is taking things “day by day” to make sure Olave does what’s best for his health.
“He wants to go thoroughly through the process and making sure he’s making the best decision for Chris Olave, removing football from that equation. … What’s the best decision for the person?” Rizzi said. “So, my conversations with him and our medical staff, we’ve been thorough and his family’s going to be thorough with the process. I completely support that. I have five kids of my own, and if that was one of my kids, I would want to do the same thing.”
Olave has now had four confirmed concussions in his NFL career. Besides the one earlier this season against the Buccaneers, he had one in his rookie season and another last year. He was also evaluated for a concussion against the Chargers but remained in the game.
He changed his helmet to a model considered to be safer after sustaining his first concussion this season, but he elected not to wear a Guardian Cap during games.
Rizzi said he’s not worried about the football aspect of things and wants Olave to take all the time he needs before making any sort of decision about that.
“We’re more worried about Chris Olave the person and making sure that everything’s good,” Rizzi said. “Then once he goes through that process, we’ll bring it back to football to see how that fits in. When I say day to day, it sounds like coach-speak. He’s kind of seeing some specialists and we’ll go through the process.”
Olave’s brother Josh Olave on Sunday responded to a fan question on X asking if he and his brother needed to talk about whether it was worth it to continue playing.
“Ain’t worth it in Nola, I’ll tell you that,” Josh Olave responded at the time.
Rizzi said nothing is off the table when it comes to a decision about Chris Olave’s future as a football player, but he repeated that Olave is simply taking things day by day at the moment.
“I think he’s really smart in the process he’s taking with the medical people — not just in our building, but outside of our building, some specialists,” Rizzi said. “I don’t think we’ve gotten to that point though. Everything’s on the table.”