Rashid

Shaheed

It’s an unfortunate end to what was shaping up to be a promising season for Shaheed. Shaheed suffered a knee injury in the Saints Week 6 loss to the Buccaneers, but the team was holding out hope for a return later in the season following meniscus surgery. Instead, per Schefter, Shaheed is now looking at a “four-to-six month recovery.” The third-year receiver’s year ends with 20 catches for 349 yards and three touchdowns.

Shaheed will miss a minimum of four games but could be in line to miss more as the team learns about the severity of his injury. Head coach Dennis Allen said on Wednesday that Shaheed would undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus but wouldn’t know the extent of the damage until later. Shaheed will be eligible to return in Week 11 against the Browns, but we’ll likely get a clearer timeline from the team in the coming days. The Saints wide receiver corps is in a tough spot with Shaheed and Chris Olave (concussion) now out for Week 7.

Shaheed is obviously out for Week 7 versus the Broncos and will miss a few more games if injured reserve is a possibility. With Chris Olave also out, the Saints are down to Bub Means as their top receiver. The rookie caught five passes for 45 yards and a touchdown in Week 6. He is worth adding as a potential WR4 in all fantasy formats.

Shahid is reportedly getting his knee checked to determine the severity of an injury he suffered in the fourth quarter, per Nick Underhill. He definitely appears to be trending towards being inactive for Thursday night. He may also be an IR candidate. Bub Means was New Orleans’ most-targeted receiver last game and may be a viable PPR scam on Thursday night with both Shaheed and Chris Olave likely out.

This is an estimated report. This is the surprise of the two wideout injuries for New Orleans, and it’s a new listing after Shaheed was on the injury report with a hip last week. This could be management, it could be more serious. We simply don’t have much information at the moment. The practice report on Tuesday will tell more of the tale. If Shaheed misses Thursday night’s game against the Broncos, we could be in for a lot of Bub Means and Cedrick Wilson.

As expected, Spencer Rattler was unable to connect with Shaheed much in his first NFL start. Shaheed was third on the team in targets but barely got his name in the box score with just one catch. He did, however, return a punt for a touchdown, adding six fantasy points to an otherwise disastrous day. Shaheed will struggle to do much as the deep threat for a team rolling out a backup quarterback for a few more works while Derek Carr nurses an oblique injury. He will fall down to the WR5 rankings for his Week 7 matchup with the Broncos.

It appears the Saints were playing things conservatively with Shaheed, who practiced in a limited capacity on Thursday and Friday. Shaheed has proven himself as a talent-based, weekly WR3, though his outlook is more volatile than normal with Derek Carr (oblique) sidelined.

Shaheed missed Wednesday’s practice but was back for a limited session on Thursday. “I’ll be all good,” Shaheed said. “Just trying to take care of this hip. By the time game time comes around I’ll be alright.” This is an instance where it seems like we can take the player at their word. The bigger problem for Shaheed is the insertion of rookie Spencer Rattler under center with Derek Carr week to week with an oblique issue. An already volatile player will now be even moreso, knocking Shaheed out of the top 40 after he had been pushing up the ranks in recent weeks.

The Saints already lost Derek Carr to a multi-week oblique injury and the team’s receiving yards leader (338) is dealing with a hip issue. Thursday’s injury report should tell us more about Shaheed’s availability but this is a story to monitor now.

Derek Carr failed to connect with Shaheed on multiple downfield passes in the first quarter before 43-yard hookup for a score in the second quarter. Carr appeared to mouth “I told you” to the sidelines, indicating he potentially lobbied to keep the foot on the gas with Shaheed and the deep ball, evidently seeing something on the field worth exploiting. Shaheed’s fantasy managers will want to keep tabs on the status of Carr ahead of the team’s Week 6 meeting with the Buccaneers after the veteran quarterback departed in the fourth quarter with an oblique injury.