Context:

The New Orleans Saints face a challenging offseason as they navigate significant roster gaps and financial constraints, compounded by the unexpected retirement of veteran quarterback Derek Carr. With a struggling defense and a mid-ranked offense, the team fired head coach Dennis Allen and eventually appointed Kellen Moore as the new head coach. Carr's retirement has left the Saints with a trio of quarterbacks, none of whom have proven to be long-term solutions, prompting speculation of a full rebuild. As part of this potential rebuild, there is talk of trading talented but concussion-prone wide receiver Chris Olave, with the Kansas City Chiefs emerging as a potential destination. The Chiefs are looking to bolster their receiver lineup with Olave, who could provide stability despite his own injury history, adding another target for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Dive Deeper:

• The Saints entered the offseason with a shrinking salary cap and significant roster gaps after finishing the 2024 season with one of the NFL's worst defenses, allowing 379 yards per game. Their offense fared slightly better, but was still ranked 21st overall, exacerbated by Derek Carr's midseason injury which thrust rookie Spencer Rattler into the starting role.

• Following a promising start to the 2024 season, the Saints faltered, resulting in the dismissal of head coach Dennis Allen. The subsequent search for a new coach was prolonged, with Kellen Moore, former Eagles offensive coordinator, ultimately taking the helm due to his successful track record with quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert.

• Derek Carr's unexpected retirement, following a contract restructuring and amid rumors of a lingering shoulder injury, leaves the Saints with unproven quarterbacks Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener, and rookie Tyler Shough for the 2025 season. Shough, who has a history of injuries, was drafted despite mixed evaluations.

• The Saints, already burdened by roster gaps, are now potentially considering a full rebuild, with wide receiver Chris Olave as a key trade candidate. Olave, a former first-round pick, has shown promise but has struggled with concussions and is under contract for only two more years.

• The Kansas City Chiefs are seen as a strong trade partner for Olave, given their need for a reliable receiver to stabilize a high-risk, high-reward receiving corps. With Patrick Mahomes at the helm, Olave could provide the consistency needed despite his own injury concerns, complementing the emerging talents of Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice.

• The New Orleans Saints entered this offseason significantly below the salary cap and had massive holes on both sides of the roster. 

• They finished with one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2024 allowing 379 yards per game, which ranked them 30th in the league. 

• New Orleans found a little bit more success on the offensive side of the ball last season, but still closed out the year with the No. 21 unit in the NFL, with a midseason injury to Derek Carr leading to rookie Spencer Rattler getting thrown into the fire. 

• After two dominating wins to start the 2024 campaign, the Saints crumbled quickly, which led to head coach Dennis Allen getting fired. 

• So when the offseason began, it became abundantly clear the Saints needed to hire a new head coach. They interviewed a few of the top candidates, with other big names like Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury turning down an interview request. 

• By the time the Super Bowl came around —- every other team in need of a new head coach had hired their guy — while the New Orleans Saints still didn’t have a new coach signed to a contract. 

• Ultimately, the Saints landed on Eagles OC and former NFL QB Kellen Moore, who has been a hot name in NFL circles since his time leading the offense for the Dallas Cowboys. Moore helped propel Dak Prescott to some of his best NFL seasons, and before winning a Super Bowl as the OC for the Eagles, spent a year in LA where he found success with Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense. 

• Moore’s track record of getting the most out of quarterbacks led Saints fans to the assumption Derek Carr would be back ass the team’s starter as he looked to be almost fully healthy from last year’s injury. Carr accounted for a massive chunk of cash on the books for the New Orleans Saints, so while he was mentioned in trade rumors, it was hard to see another team absorbing that much money. 

• Shortly after re-structuring Carr’s contract so that most of it would be converted to a signing bonus which would free cap space for New Orleans, a report surfaced that the Saints QB was battling a lingering shoulder injury that could sideline him for the 2025 season. 

• And after speculation about a rift between the Saints and Carr, the 34-year-old veteran QB shocked the NFL by announcing his retirement on Saturday. 

• That means as of now, the Saints are heading into the 2025 season with Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and their new draft pick, Tyler Shough, as the three quarterbacks on the roster. Shough is obviously a rookie and had mixed evaluations coming out of Louisville, largely due to an extensive injury history. Haener has been a career backup while Rattler started some games last year, but never looked like he could be the future franchise QB. 

• The New Orleans Saints roster already had massive holes before Carr retired, but their veteran QB hanging up his cleats could cause a ripple effect as the NFC South franchise is likely embracing a full rebuild this season. 

• David Latham of Last Word on Sports believes the Saints may now make a surprising move, by trading former first-round WR Chris Olave who is only 24 and has flashed plenty of potential when healthy: 

• Carr’s retirement could force a long-overdue rebuild, and that would likely mean a Chris Olave trade. The first-round pick is one of the better players on the roster when healthy, but battled concussions throughout his career and only has two years remaining on his contract. New Orleans would probably be better off with a draft pick, and several teams should be willing to make a low-risk, high-reward investment in a talented player at a premium position.

• Latham believes the Kansas City Chiefs are n ideal landing spot for Olave in a trade with the Saints: 

• The Kansas City Chiefs have a high-risk, high-reward wide receiver room and could use more stability at the position. Xavier Worthy showed promise as a rookie, and Rashee Rice is already the real deal. If both players reach their potential, Patrick Mahomes should have no trouble leading another top-five offense. However, Worthy might not make the Year 2 leap, and Rice is coming off a serious injury. Chris Olave has his own injury history, but the trade target will ensure Mahomes has at least one reliable target on the field throughout the season.