Saints $19 Million Star Surprisingly Mentioned As Trade Candidate

The New Orleans Saints are going to have an interesting few days, to say the least.

New Orleans has to get its cap situation in order ahead of the new National Football League calendar year, which will begin on March 12. The Saints have the lowest amount of cap space in the league and need to free up roughly $43 million in cap space ahead of the new league year, according to ESPN's Katherine Terrell.

"The New Orleans Saints must free up approximately $43 million in salary cap space before the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 12," Terrell said. "The 2025 salary cap was set at $279.2 million on Thursday, a $23.8 million raise from last year. Teams are not allowed to be over the salary cap once the free agency signing period begins, giving the Saints about two weeks to get cap compliant."

That's going to lead to some cuts, restructured contracts, and maybe even a trade or two. SaintsWire's John Sigler made a list of possible trade candidates and player who surprisingly was on his list is receiver Chris Olave.

"WR Chris Olave," Sigler said. "Trading away talented young playmakers is far from ideal, and it doesn't feel like something Mickey Loomis would entertain after signaling the desire to go chase an NFC South title this year. But you never know. Jimmy Graham felt untouchable once, too. Olave has a big contract extension on the horizon and a serious injury history behind him.

"This may be something the Saints view as a chance to reboot their offense, get a good pick or two back, and give Kellen Moore the resources he needs to build his own offense. But punting on the rest of Olave's career would be painful, especially given the lack of depth at wide receiver. Savings if traded: $3,332,982."

Olave has one more season left on his four-year rookie deal worth over $19 million to go along with a club option for 2026. He's young and has shown flashes that he can be the team's No. 1 receiver when healthy. The team could save some cash by trading him, but it would make more sense to cut spending elsewhere and build around Olave.