By all accounts, the 2025 season is expected to be a rough one for the New Orleans Saints.
New Orleans will be breaking in a new head coach in Kellen Moore, and a new quarterback with rookie Tyler Shough presumably taking over for the retired Derek Carr. The NFL offered its not-so-subtle take on the Saints by awarding them zero prime-time games in its 2025 regular-season schedule.
This has understandably led to some speculation on whether the Saints could enter full rebuild mode and look to sell off some assets, with the Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly showing interest in trading the Saints for wide receiver Chris Olave.
The Saints are reportedly showing no interest in trading their No. 1 wide out, but that could change in the near future. With one of the more unsettled situations at quarterback in the NFL, New Orleans’ season could skid off the rails quickly, leading GM Mickey Loomis and Co. to ponder Olave’s fully-guaranteed salary of $15.4 million that’s looming in 2026.
If Olave can stay healthy this season and does become a trade-block candidate, Mike Fisher of Athlon Sports is urging GM Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles to orchestrate a creative trade that blocks the Steelers and brings the former Ohio State star to Philly as Jalen Hurts’ new No. 3 wide receiver.
“While Eagles fans may salivate at the prospect of adding another weapon like Olave, questions about resource allocation remain,” Fisher wrote. “With defensive holes to fill and future contract extensions to consider, is a luxury addition at WR3 the right move for a defending champion?
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“That said, few general managers have shown the aggressive creativity of Howie Roseman, especially when it comes to maximizing championship windows. If there’s a GM willing to make a bold move, Philadelphia has him.”
Again, the Saints are in no position to be trading away potential franchise wide receivers, especially within the conference to the reigning Super Bowl champions. But to Fisher’s point on “resource allocation,” the biggest hurdle here would be Olave’s 2026 salary.
The Eagles wouldn’t be able to justify a trade for Olave without immediately signing him to a multi-year extension. Given the team’s hard-line stance this offseason to cut costs — just ask tight end Dallas Goedert and former safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson — a luxury move like this would be a major departure from the plan.
The Eagles are expected to have five draft picks in the first three rounds alone in 2026 (and as many as 12 total), so they easily have the capital to make a blockbuster move like this to improve their chances at a Super Bowl repeat. This trade idea fits like a square peg in a round hole, however, with an oft-injured Olave, too much guaranteed money due, and two of the best receivers in football already on the depth chart in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
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