Saints Dodge a Bullet: Chris Olave Expected to Play Against Ravens

The New Orleans Saints are officially dodging a massive bullet. Wide receiver Chris Olave is expected to play Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens despite carrying a questionable tag into the weekend, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

This is the exact kind of late-week injury news that makes fantasy managers and bettors stare blankly at their phones. Olave popped up on the Thursday injury report with a hamstring issue, which is usually the NFL equivalent of the check engine light turning on during a road trip.

"Adam Schefter reported that Olave is expected to play despite the questionable tag."

Instead, it looks like it was just a precautionary breather. That is a massive relief for a New Orleans offense that would otherwise be walking into a buzzsaw without its best weapon.

For context on how much the Saints need him, just look at last week. Olave absolutely torched the Detroit Lions for 10 catches and 182 yards on 13 targets. They still lost 31-30, but he was the only reason they were breathing in the fourth quarter.

Now they get a Baltimore defense that just dismantled the Indianapolis Colts 41-23. The Ravens are sitting as 8.5-point favorites, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey has already been talking about getting to the stadium early just to prep for this passing attack.

If Olave had actually sat this one out, that 8.5-point spread would have looked like a polite suggestion rather than a real line. The Saints are already sweating out a calf injury for defensive end Chase Young, so losing their top receiver would have been catastrophic.

We will see exactly how much that hamstring limits his top-end speed once the game kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET. But if you are New Orleans, a slightly tight Chris Olave is still infinitely better than whatever Plan B was supposed to be.