Saints add WR Pettis to practice squad

By Ross Jackson

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints have announced some adjustments to their practice squad on Tuesday afternoon. These moves are likely reflective of the team’s current concerns at wide receiver. Starting wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed may possibly be out for Thursday night’s game against the Denver Broncos. Shaheed in particular, could be out for an extended period with a knee injury.

To help brace for that, the Saints announced that they have added veteran wide receiver Dante Pettis to their practice squad. The team released cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles from the practice squad to make room for the move.

Pettis, a 6-foot-1, 195 pound wideout from Washington was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers as a second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He also spent time with the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. 

Pettis has 71 career catches, 984 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns receptions through his six NFL seasons. He could possibly be called upon this week to help the team out at the position, which is struggling with key injuries.

Olave is working his way through concussion protocol, which is a challenge to clear from a Sunday game to a Thursday game. New Orleans also has rookies Bub Means and Mason Tipton along with veteran Cedrick Wilson Jr. on their active roster. They also have Equanimeous St. Brown, Kevin Austin Jr., Jermaine Jackson and now Pettis on their practice squad.