Chris Olave Expected to Play Against Lions

The Saints are expected to have Chris Olave today against the Lions. We reported on Saturday that he was continuing to trend in the right direction, and we got word overnight that he's going to play. That would mean he's cleared the NFL's concussion protocol.

For some clarity, there's five phases to the NFL's return-to-participation protocol when a player suffers a concussion, with the final phase being cleared by an Independent Neurological Consultant (INC) assigned to the team.

• Phase 1: Symptom Limited Activity
• Phase 2: Aerobic Exercise
• Phase 3: Football-Specific Exercise
• Phase 4: Club-Based Non-Contact Training Drills
• Phase 5: Full Football Activity / Clearance

Upon clearance by the Club physician for full football activity involving contact, the player must be examined by the Independent Neurological Consultant (INC) assigned to his Club. If the INC concurs with the Club physician that the player’s concussion has resolved, he may participate in his Club’s next practice or game.

Olave got hurt against the Falcons when he went up to make a catch near the sideline. He landed very awkwardly and got looked at for a minute. He popped up and attempted to go back in, but was forced to go into the medical tent to get evaluated. When you see the sideline activity involve personnel with the red hats, that's a really good tell that it's concussion related.

Olave sits at 771 yards on 63 receptions with 3 touchdowns this season. The Saints take on the Lions in a must-win Week 13 game in the Superdome.