Weird moments happen all the time in the NFL every offseason, but what was the weirdest moment for the New Orleans Saints this offseason? It's been an eventful offseason for the Saints, who hired a new head coach in Kellen Moore, drafted a soon-to-be 26-year-old rookie quarterback, and saw their former starting quarterback retire from the sport.
With so many options to pick from this offseason, what ultimately will be looked at as the weirdest move by the Saints in 2025? That would be the Saints trading a fourth-round pick in next year's draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 draft for wide receiver DeVaughn Vele.
Saints' weirdest offseason move was trading for Devaughn Vele
Trading for Vele wasn't necessarily a bad or weird move, but the hefty price the Saints paid to land the former Bronco wideout made it fall into the weird category. Vele was a seventh-round pick by the Broncos in the 2024 draft and was a decent contributor for them last year, finishing his rookie year with 41 receptions for 475 yards and three touchdowns.
The Saints needed wide receiver help, so that move wasn't entirely crazy, but what they gave up, paired with Vele being an older second-year player at 27 years old (and turning 28 in December) put it in the weird category. Yeah, the team added wide receiver help, but the way they did it was highly unusual, to say the least. They gave up a lot to add a guy who won't even be starting for them, adding to the strangeness of the situation.
With Vele now in the Big Easy, the Saints have Brandin Cooks, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed as their starters, with Vele, Trey Palmer, and Mason Tipton as the depth pieces. The wide receiver room doesn't look all that bad now, but again, the criticism isn't the move itself. Instead, it's what the Saints sacrificed to land a former seventh-round pick that's turning 28 later this year.
While it looks like the Broncos are going to be the winners of this trade, if Vele goes on to ball out in New Orleans and those draft picks don't turn into anything meaningful, this could easily swing in the Saints' favor. For now, it was a weird move by the New Orleans Saints for sure.