Saints' Mason Tipton: Headed to IR

The Saints are placing Tipton (groin) on injured reserve ahead of Sunday's Week 18 matchup with Atlanta, Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football reports.

Tipton will miss a second straight game to end the season, losing an opportunity at a top-three role with the Saints' receiving corp in a depleted state. Chris Olave also will miss Week 18 due to a blood clot in his lung, leaving Kevin Austin and Dante Pettis as the Saints' top wide receivers. They'll need practice-squad call-ups to help out this Sunday and could also deploy TEs Taysom Hill or Moliki Matavao in larger-than-usual roles. Tipton, a 2024 UDFA, finishes his second NFL season with 11 catches for 76 yards. He caught 14 passes for 99 yards as a rookie, with a similar trajectory in terms of only getting snaps after other WRs were injured. Tipton likely will need to fight for his roster spot in 2026.