Saints’ Chris Olave reports for OTAs, prioritizes winning

By Ross Jackson

It’s not out of the ordinary to see players skip Organized Team Activities (OTA) sessions during contract negotiations. The practices are voluntary, but can still establish an expectation of absence until a deal is reached.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave chose to go a different route as his team reported for OTAs with him on the field.

Instead of stressing the contract conversations and their importance to him by skipping the practices, he chose to lead with his dedication to the club and his teammates instead. It’s the kind of move that players make to show their franchise that they’re bought in and ready to go, new deal or not.

For Olave, he had a simple message he wanted to get across in attending the practices and working alongside his group: he wants to win and showing up is the first step.

“I’m committed to winning,” he said, repeating a sentiment from earlier in his OTA media availability. “We haven’t been winning here these past four years since I’ve been here. One player doesn’t really affect the game. They’re always looking for somebody to replace you. So, I’m committed to winning first of all, and I feel like I’m a team player. The contract is a whole different side of the game. It’s the business side. So, I feel like we’re going to come down to that before training camp.”

A common sports understanding is that you can’t win if you’re not on the field and competing alongside the rest of the team. With Olave’s commitment to winning at the forefront of his mind, it doesn’t seem that the contract is creating any kind of distraction for him.

He made it clear that his hope for the extension that the team and his representation have been discussing for some time now, is done before training camp kicks off in late July. Whether or not that timeline is met remains to be seen.

But for now, Olave has made it clear. He’s dedicated to winning and committed to his club. The contract will fall into place, Olave’s focus appears to be on thing and one thing only.

“(The) number one goal for me is to win,” he said plainly.We got a lot of weapons now. So, hopefully we get that going.”