Dante

Pettis

Tipton is now on the wrong side of questionable, which is unfortunate. The Saints will be without WR Chris Olave, who is in the hospital, recovering from a blood clot in his lung. This likely leaves WRs Kevin Austin and Dante Pettis atop the depth chart against the Panthers.

Tipton missed the Saints’ last two practices. Players typically play through illnesses, but he appears to be truly questionable. Were he to sit out, it would leave the Saints with only WRs Chris Olave, Kevin Austin Jr. and Dante Pettis on the active roster. Olave should handle a significant target share, per usual.

Pettis saw late playing time for the lowly Saints because of playing time, but the former second-round pick will make his living with New Orleans as a special teams contributor.

The touchdown gives Pettis Jr. his only score of 2024, and his first receiving touchdown since 2022. Pettis will get a chance to make rosters because he’s able to contribute on special teams, but that’s all he is at this point.

Pettis’ 27 yards led the Saints wide receivers, and his four targets tied Cedrick Wilson Jr. for the team-high amongst receivers. Pettis wasn’t able to do much with it, and it’s hard to feel confident about receivers catching passes from Spencer Rattler, but if you’re in a super deep league playing in Week 18 it does seem like Pettis is emerging as the team’s top receiver with Marquez Valdes-Scantling banged up.

Pettis was elevated from the practice squad amidst mounting injuries but was largely unable to take advantage of the opportunity. He should revert back to the practice squad Monday and is unlikely to contribute in a meaningful way down the stretch in a lost season for the Saints.

That’s a pretty strong indication that they believe they’ll be in need of reinforcements for Thursday night’s game against the Broncos. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed each missed practice on Monday and we suspect we’ll see the same today. Pettis could be a quick elevation as the Saints try to give five wideouts for Spencer Rattler on Thursday.

He joins Denzel Mims in the tryout circuit as the Cowboys try to build some depth as Brandin Cooks nurses a knee injury. Pettis was with the Bears in training camp and last appeared in NFL games in 2022, catching 19 balls for 245 yards and three scores for Chicago.

Pettis suffered a back injury in training camp last year and was placed on injured reserve. He was later released with an injury settlement. When healthy in 2022, Pettis caught 19 balls for 245 yards and three scores. He also returned punts for Chicago. Despite the breakout never happening for Pettis, he appears to have carved out a role with the Bears as a special teamer and depth receiver.

As Fishbain notes in his article, Jones won’t be earning a lot of reps at wide receiver with D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool looking like the top-three options. The team also values Equanimeous St. Brown’s run blocking and added rookie Tyler Scott in the fourth round of this year’s draft. Fishbain suggests Jones could be in competition with veteran Dante Pettis for the final roster spot -- assuming the Bears break camp with six receivers. Jones proved his value as a kick return last season, but it was Pettis who handled punt return duties while also showing some chemistry with quarterback Justin Fields. Jones, who the Bears selected in the third round of last year’s draft, finished the season with seven receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown, while running just 71 routes for a team already thin at receiver. Barring injuries, Jones could be in for an uphill battle to earn a roster spot this offseason. It should go without saying, but he’s also well off the fantasy radar.