With out Chris Olave, the Saints will even be with out breakthrough wideout Rashid Shaheed for his or her Thursday night time Broncos matchup. Shaheed will bear knee surgical procedure, which is able to rule him out for the foreseeable future.
The downfield menace has an opportunity to return this season, however that’s not assured. The result of Shaheed’s meniscus surgical procedure will decide if he misses just a few weeks or the remainder of the 12 months, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Dropping Shaheed can be a harsh blow to a New Orleans offense that has already performed with out a number of offensive linemen for stretches this season. Coping with an indirect tear, Derek Carr may also miss a second recreation.
Dennis Allen subsequently announced that Shaheed will undergo an exploratory procedure to determine if the third-year wideout will need a meniscus trim or a full repair, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds. A full restore would knock the lately prolonged receiver out for the season.
Averaging 17.5 yards per catch, Shaheed has continued his transition from UDFA to starter. Olave’s prime sidekick has scored three long-range TDs and exited Week 6 with 20 receptions for 349 yards. Shaheed, final season’s first-team All-Professional punt returner, additionally returned a punt for a rating for a second straight season. Whereas Olave is the Saints’ prime receiver funding, Shaheed at present leads the group in yardage.
The Saints did nicely to determine Shaheed out of Division I-FCS Montana State, bringing him in as a part of their 2022 UDFA class. With Michael Thomas hardly ever accessible over the earlier two seasons — and when he was, the previous All-Professional displayed an injury-driven decline that has him out of the league — Shaheed stepped in to offer the group an intriguing WR2 choice. Final season, Shaheed totaled 719 yards and 5 TD receptions in 15 video games. He then entered this 12 months as a clear-cut New Orleans starter.
Shaheed, 26, signed an ERFA tender this offseason however later inked a one-year bump that requires a $4.2M base wage in 2025. This transaction prevented the Saints from needing to use for a second-round RFA tender for the Weber State alum subsequent 12 months. However the group dangers dropping a blossoming participant, persevering with a troublesome stretch following an explosive 2-0 begin.
The Saints will once more deploy Spencer Rattler as their beginning QB, however he is not going to have any dependable wideouts to focus on. The group minimize 2023 draftee A.T. Perry, who’s now on Denver’s observe squad. Past Shaheed and Olave, rookie Bub Means leads Saints WRs with 5 receptions for 45 yards.
