Saints rookie receiver Bub Means has a concerning start to his first training camp

The New Orleans Saints haven’t even officially started training camp yet, but concerning headlines are already emerging from the franchise. On Tuesday, the rookies reported for training camp. They’ll be joined by the veterans next Tuesday, on July 23, and camp will officially start a day later.

However, with rookies reporting, we get the first glimpse of who’s healthy and who isn’t. Unfortunately, one of New Orleans’ promising rookies arrived to camp with an injury. On Tuesday, the Saints placed rookie wide receiver Bub Means on the non-football injury list.

The non-football injury list is for players who sustained an injury while away from the team. While on the list, players can’t practice but they can be activated whenever they are healthy enough for football activities.

Saints place Bub Means on non-football injury list

The good news, though, is Means isn’t dealing with anything severe. According to Nick Underhill, the situation isn’t serious, the rookie receiver plans to do his conditioning test, and he’s expected to be on the field with the team soon.

Means was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, with the 170th-overall pick. While he was a mid-round pick, many people have named him as an under-the-radar player to watch that could be a difference-making contributor in year one.

At 6-foot-1, 212 pounds, Means is a strong receiver that ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine. He spent time at three different colleges (Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and Pitt) but really found his footing in his final year at Pitt. Playing in 12 games, he caught 41 passes for 721 yards and six touchdowns— numbers that experts argue could’ve been better with better quarterback play.

With the Saints, Means has the chance to establish himself as WR3. The expectation is Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed will be the top two targets, and A.T. Perry, Cedrick Wilson, and Bub Means will compete to be the No. 3 option.