The New Orleans Saints possibly trading Chris Olave made a few headlines this offseason. Kellen Moore downplayed the rumors earlier this month, and now Olave is doing the same saying, "it’s all rumors, man."
The wide receiver goes as far as to label this as click bait. "Everybody trying to have something for clicks," Olave said. "I love it here, man. I love the front office. I love my coaches. I’m excited to be here and I want to be here forever. This is where I want to be.”
It was nice to hear Olave reaffirm his commitment to New Orleans. Sometimes rumors like this can mess with the psyche of younger players. This wasn't the case for Olave, as he saw right through the chatter.
Chris Olave trade rumors never made sense
The combination of Olave's age, value to the team and untapped potential make this trade difficult to imagine.
Olave's description of the rumors being for clicks is the perfect way to describe the trade talks. The closest we got to anything tangible was a Pittsburgh media member saying the Steelers were interested. Teams being interested in Olave is far from the Saints being interested in dealing them.
Trade talks often felt closer to fan fiction than true whispers. Olave is the Saints top wide receiver, but more importantly, he turns 25 in June. New Orleans recently picked up his fifth-year option, and he'll be playing with hopes of earning his second contract next offseason.
Olave isn't an aging veteran. He's an ascending young player who the Saints still have for two years at a low figure. Dealing Olave would be difficult to justify from a team building standpoint on multiple fronts. It's a move that signifies you're completely blowing up your team. Even teams who blow it up keep some of their best players.
Kellen Moore and Chris Olave have denounced the rumors. There isn't more they can do to put an end to the silly rumors.