The New Orleans Saints fire sale is pending and their wide receivers are going to be hot commodities. Chris Olave, Brandin Cooks and Rashid Shaheed have all been rumored to be dealt before the NFL’s No. 4 trade deadline. It’s not a surprise as the one-win Saints need to turn to rebuilding after things haven’t been less than ideal in 2025.
Kellen Moore was always going to have a tough task in turning the Saints around and not having a quarterback only made his job more complicated. Instead of trying to put a band-aid on this team, they just need to do a complete overhaul and start over. They probably shouldn’t offload all three receivers with Shaheed being the most flexible move.
The Saints are reportedly asking for a third-round pick in exchange for Shaheed, as he’s on an expiring contract and he’s just 27 years old. This season, Shaheed has 356 yards and two receiving touchdowns in seven games.
Olave would have the most value, but then the Saints wouldn’t be left with anything to build around. So when it comes to Shaheed, which teams should actually jump at the chance to land him?
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos have an offensive problem they’re not ready to admit to yet. While they did put together a 33-point third quarter to beat the New York Giants last week, that doesn’t absolve Bo Nix and this offense of the problems they’ve had this year. Their biggest problem is they don’t have enough playmakers. Adding Shaheed would give Nix another option to go to and hopefully improve the passing offense.
This season, the Broncos are ranked 15th in passing offense, despite being sixth in total passing attempts, per Pro Football Reference. Nix is averaging 222 passing yards per game, which is 18th for quarterbacks with five or more starts this year. The passing game needs a bump and adding a big play receiver like Shaheed should help open up the passing game.
Pittsburgh Steelers
DK Metcalf isn’t enough for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, which is why they’ve been linked to landing Shaheed before the deadline. This is as all-in of a season as the Steelers can have so they shouldn’t be worried about draft capital, especially giving up a third round pick at that. They could possibly add in a player for the Saints to sweeten the deal, but the Steelers need to add at least one more weapon for Aaron Rodgers.
After Metcalf, who’s the team’s leading receiver with 406 yards, Pat Freiermuth is second with 187 and the next receiver is Calvin Austin III with 139 receiving yards. This offense needs another receiver and the fact that they’ve been lackadaisical in replacing George Pickens shows why they need to jump at Rasheed.
With Rodgers, Metcalf would be the primary target with Shaheed serving as the explosive playmaker that can turn short passes into significant gains. This is something the Steelers really shouldn’t be thinking too much about. They need some basic improvements on offense and refusing to make a simple trade for Shaheed could come back to haunt them after the deadline.
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills started the season 4-0 and have lost the last two since. They have the reigning MVP, yet their receiver room is lacking, to say the least. Their leading receiver is Dalton Kincaid, their tight end. Khalil Shakir has just over 250 total receiving yards this year and Keon Coleman has just under 250 receiving yards. Josh Allen needs help in the receiving room and Shaheed could be the answer.
If Shakir joined the team, he’d be the leading receiver and the only player with more than 300 receiving yards on the team. The one thing this team doesn’t have is an explosive receiver and if they don’t get one, their one-dimensional offense will soon implode. What Shaheed would add to this offense could go a long way to making sure Allen and the Bills can actually go on a deep playoff run.
This offense needs a lot of help in the receiving room and honestly, Olave might be more of a play here for them than Shaheed. Either way, what Shaheed can add to this offense is too valuable and they don’t need the draft picks right now as winning should be more important to them.