New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (hamstring) is a little banged up after Saturday's practice session. Head coach Dennis Allen said Shaheed is dealing with hamstring tightness and will be evaluated on Sunday. This is not good news for an already thin wide receiver group in New Orleans. Shaheed figures to have a decently sized role in the offense this upcoming season. He hauled in 46 receptions for 719 yards and five touchdowns through 15 games last season. There should be more information on the severity of the injury later in the weekend.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer on his facial area and is scheduled to have a procedure performed Monday to address the issue. Reports say Haener should be expected back on the field for practice on Wednesday following the regularly scheduled off day for the Saints on Tuesday. The former fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is set to compete for the backup role behind incumbent starter Derek Carr with 2024 fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler. The second-year signal-caller is a Fresno State alum -- like Carr -- and enjoyed a breakout season in 2021, where he tossed 4,096 yards, completing 67% of his passes with a 33:9 TD: INT ratio. Carr is locked in as the starter, but it's anyone's game behind him. Haener presents as little more than a deep-league dynasty stash until he proves himself as the backup in question.

New Orleans Saints undrafted rookie wide receiver Mason Tipton has been routinely hauling in long passes and running by defenders early in training camp this summer. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound Yale product ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash on his pro day and is slowly earning his teammates' respect. He caught 132 passes for 2,067 yards and 19 touchdowns in four seasons at Yale and is looking to separate himself from a list of receivers behind starters Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed that includes A.T. Perry, Cedric Wilson, Stanley Morgan Jr., Bub Means and Equanimeous St. Brown. "I think he's got the skill set," head coach Dennis Allen said. "He's a smaller player, but he's got some real good quickness and he's a savvy route runner. He's got some football awareness, and so I think he understands kind of how to play the position." For now, Tipton is merely a player to watch as we near preseason action.

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson (foot) worked off to the side in Wednesday's practice and was spotted running, indicating further progress on his injured foot. With a quick return to jogging and running, it's a good sign that Johnson's foot injury is progressing well. While Johnson's Week 1 status is still up in the air, it's something to keep monitoring. The 27-year-old Johnson has been a solid contributor for the Saints, with 37 receptions, 368 yards, and four touchdowns in 13 games. If Johnson is unable to begin Week 1 as the starting tight end for the Saints, those opportunities likely fall into the lap of veteran Foster Moreau and jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill. A healthy Johnson is more of a TE2 than a starting tight end in fantasy, but Johnson has been known to hit on a spike week or two as a touchdown-dependent streaming option during bye weeks.

After leaving practice on Tuesday following a training camp scare where New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (hip) landed on his hip, Olave returned to practice on Wednesday. Hopefully, this is more of a minor bump than anything that will linger throughout camp, but it's excellent news that the 24-year-old Olave returned to the field just 24 hours later. The bulk of the passing game targets should go directly to Olave in 2024, as Olave and Alvin Kamara are the only two members of the Saints' roster who have earned 75 or more targets in a season. For fantasy purposes, Olave is a low-end WR1 with big-time upside at wide receiver in 2024.