Chris Olave Injury: Week 13 Fantasy Football Impact

The NFL season is in full swing. As happens every year, injuries are rearing their ugly heads. As fantasy football managers prepare to set Week 13 lineups, it’s important to stay informed on the latest injury news. Chris Olave missed some practice time this week due to injury. What is his current status and outlook for this week?

Is Chris Olave Playing Week 13?

Update:Olave is ACTIVE

Olave has been relatively healthy throughout the 2025 campaign after his 2024 season was derailed by multiple concussions. The fourth-year receiver has suited up for all 11 of the Saints’ games this season, providing consistency in an otherwise chaotic year for New Orleans.

The veteran receiver popped up on Wednesday’s practice report with a back injury and was listed as limited. Normally, a limited practice session on Wednesday would be of no concern whatsoever. Wednesday practices are largely meaningless for evaluating a player’s availability, especially for veterans dealing with minor ailments.

However, Olave’s situation is different. Olave left practice early, which was the cause of his limited designation. This means the injury occurred during Wednesday’s practice session, which is not ideal. In-practice injuries carry more concern than issues that players are simply managing from previous games.

The severity of Olave’s back injury still remains unclear. Back injuries can range from minor muscle strains that heal quickly to more serious issues that linger for multiple weeks.

Olave did not practice on Thursday, which was not a good sign for his availability. However, Olave did get in a limited practice on Friday, which is encouraging. He is listed as questionable heading into Sunday’s game.

The fact that he was able to return to practice on Friday after missing Thursday entirely suggests he is more likely to play than not, but we will have to wait for inactives to be announced Sunday morning to be sure.

The Saints are already dealing with significant injury concerns on offense. If New Orleans ends up being without Olave for Sunday’s matchup against Miami, the offense will have quite a depleted unit. The Saints offense has struggled mightily this season, and losing their top receiving threat would make things even more difficult.

On Saturday night, Nick Underhill reported that Olave is expected to play.

Olave’s Fantasy Football Outlook

Two of Olave’s three best games this season have come in New Orleans past two contests, a stretch in which he’s totaled 14 catches for 174 yards and a score.

The passing game isn’t exactly a work of art, but Tyler Shough has been better than expected (70% complete in those two games) and with Rashid Shaheeed taking his talents to Seattle, there really is just one place for those passes to go.

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In Sunday’s loss, Olave had two more catches than any of his teammates had targets, something I think we can expect to be the sort of usage domination moving forward. Miami has allowed four WR1’s to reach 20 PPR points this season, including Deebo Samuel in Week 11 prior to their bye.

Olave’s ceiling isn’t in the same neighborhood as those he ranks around for me this week, but his floor is elevated to the level that we can trust him despite being attached to an untrustworthy offense.

— Kyle Soppe, PFSN Fantasy Analyst