CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Chris Olave was anxious.
The wide receiver had felt fine in the week leading up to the New Orleans Saints' 17-7 win against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. He said that practice went great, despite the loss he felt after his friend and teammate Rashid Shaheed was traded to the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 4.
But when he walked out onto the field at Bank of America Stadium, the memories came rushing back.
"As soon as I stepped on the field, I just felt it all over again," Olave said. "It was a tough situation from last year. It ended my season."
A little over a year ago, Olave had been transported off that same field on a backboard after suffering his fourth reported concussion of his pro career when he was hit in the head and neck by Panthers safety Xavier Woods while attempting to catch a pass from quarterback Derek Carr.
He went to a local hospital for evaluation and flew home with the team that night, his 2024 season over and his football future uncertain. As Olave sought the advice of concussion specialists and talked with his family about his next steps, the Saints moved on coach Dennis Allen, firing him the morning after the team lost to the Panthers on Nov. 3, 2024.
The year since that game has been a rollercoaster for Olave, who has tried to put the trials of last season behind him. When he felt that pregame anxiety, he spoke to those close to him to calm down.
"My close people on the team, my coach [Keith "Dub" Williams], [Brandin] Cooks, [Alvin Kamara], they all helped me out," Olave said. "My Pop was here too, so I went over to talk to him, pregame, tried to loosen my mind up."
Olave has admitted it took him a while to find his groove again after missing so much time.
He not only found it in Sunday's win, but has picked up his game recently, notching 27 receptions for 420 yards and 3 touchdowns over the Saints' past five games.
Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough attempted to go to Olave twice at the start of the game against the Panthers. The third time worked, as Shough uncorked a pass deep down the sidelines that traveled more than 40 yards in the air.
Olave, working one-on-one versus cornerback Jaycee Horn, won the battle as Horn lost his footing.
"He kind of fooled me pre-snap. I thought he was in Cover 2 and then I kind of went outside, tried to outside release and it was man," Olave said. "We kind of got tight to the sideline so I had to kind of battle him to catch the ball and he kind of fell. So I knew it was a touchdown."
Olave raced down the sideline alone and jumped into the stands, pumping his arms in celebration as fans behind him booed.
"I heard 'em in my ear, but I didn't really look at 'em," Olave said with a smile. "But yeah, they was booing me over there ain't going to lie."
Olave had five receptions for 104 yards -- his most since the week before that ill-fated Panthers game last season -- and a touchdown. It also put the previous game in Charlotte firmly in the rearview mirror.
"He's had to navigate that through this entire journey, and so obviously you anticipate that's something that's going to weigh on your mind a little bit. It's natural," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "But the way he played today, I mean that was just incredible. Incredible plays, phenomenal. The energy, the juice that he brought to our team, I thought it was a really special performance."
Sunday's win, the Saints' second of the season, felt like redemption for both Olave and tight end Juwan Johnson, who had a career-best 92 receiving yards and a touchdown after having an up-and-down season.
"He's been doing this for a long time," Johnson said. "I think it's just with him, it's just been the health factor. ... The thing is he's our guy, he's our receiver. There's no question about it. So to go out there and put on the performance that he's been doing ... we knew he could do that from the beginning. So the thing is we're not surprised. We're just really encouraged by what he's doing."
The Saints will go into their Week 11 bye with positive momentum, both with the promise of Shough's development and the momentum from Olave's big game.
"There's no telling what people are going through off the field and battling injuries and all that stuff," Shough said. "I think whenever you can come together and just have fun, it makes it super easy but super proud of him. I know it wasn't easy for sure, but we were just talking the whole time, texting each other last night about what we're going to do and all that stuff. So I was really happy for him. Obviously he had a great day."