Saints should absolutely explore a trade for James Washington
As the New Orleans Saints inch closer to the start of the regular season, the wide receiver position continues to be a weakness on the roster. This was already the case prior to Michael Thomas’ news surfacing that he’d be unavailable for a chunk of the season but after that news hit the media, this receiver room was arguably one of the worst in the league.
Well, other teams aren’t in a bad spot at all when it comes to their wide receiver situation. One such team is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have an abundance of receivers and one wants out of the Steel City.
James Washington has requested a trade out of Pittsburgh, per Adam Schefter, tweeting the news on Friday morning. Washington has to compete with the likes of Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, not to mention rookie running back Najee Harris. It makes sense that he wants to play for a team where he could make more of an impact in the offense.
Steelers’ WR James Washington, a former 2018 second-round pick, has approached the Steelers and requested a trade based on his limited playtime last season and so far this preseason, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 6, 2021
The New Orleans Saints must reach out to Pittsburgh about James Washington.
Washington could be the WR1 in New Orleans’ offense and that’s a win for both parties here. He started just seven games last year, down from his 10 starts in 2019, which, unsurprisingly, was his best season to this point of his career.
During that 2019 season, Washington hauled in 44 receptions for 735 yards and three touchdowns. He had a career-high five touchdowns last year but otherwise, his numbers were down from the season before.
Washington did this type of damage with multiple backup quarterbacks throwing to him, showing that he can get the job done when an ideal starter isn’t under center. He’d be the perfect fit for the Saints and probably wouldn’t be expensive to acquire considering he was a former Day 2 selection and hasn’t gone for 1,000+ yards yet during the course of his career.
As of now, the Saints look to be rolling with Tre’Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, and the rest of the receivers currently on their roster rather than go for a big-name receiver. Smith thinks this group can get it done but that remains to be seen and Washington would bring some much-needed insurance to the receiver room.
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The Saints have nothing to lose by reaching out to the Steelers and seeing what it’d take to land Washington in a trade. This is something they need to do.