Will they stay or go? That has been the question surrounding the New Orleans Saints' dynamic wide receiver duo of Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.
Olave and Shaheed have seen their names churn through the rumor mill before the NFL's upcoming Nov. 4 trade deadline. It's become increasingly hard to ignore the outside noise and beginning to feel like the tandem could split up in the coming day. Recent intel from Adam Schefter of ESPN only further validates that notion.
Schefter believes "at least one" of the Saints' mentioned playmakers will get rerouted in the coming days, and a market is ostensibly emerging for Shaheed.
Adam Schefter prepares Saints fans for Rashid Shaheed trade
"We've got the New Orleans Saints sitting on a collection of wide receivers in which I think at least one will be dealt," Schefter said (h/t The Adam Schefter Podcast). "And if I had to bet, I would say Rashid Shaheed is the guy that interests most teams for his speed and talent ... "
In addition to his skills, Shaheed's expiring contract is why the Saints would be "most willing" to part ways with him over Olave, per Schefter. Whether the club wants to keep and pay both players is a toughie that we'll presumably get an answer to sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, the insider's logic is sound if there's only room for one of the two pass-catchers in New Orleans long term.
Once viewed as exclusively a deep threat and return specialist, Shaheed has expanded his route tree and blossomed into a full-time wideout. He can make plays at multiple levels of the field and is an effective man-beater. Overcoming zone coverage remains a work in progress, though we've seen him take meaningful strides in said situations, supported by a newfound short-area usage.
Through eight games in 2025, Shaheed is pacing to set single-season personal bests across the board. He's notably doing so on a career-worst 11.1 yards per reception; for context, his previous low was 15.6. This highlights Saints first-year head coach Kellen Moore's different approach to deploying him as more than a vertical receiver.
Shaheed earned All-Pro First Team honors in 2023 for his contributions as a special teams ace, so he can provide reinforcements beyond receiving. The Weber State product finished third in punt return yards (339) and ninth in kick return yards (384) that season. His blazing speed and explosiveness have enabled him to thrive in this facet of the game.