Since early in the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't hide their interest in acquiring wide receiver help. Unfortunately, every effort to bolster the position fell through. Omar Khan and the front office failed to land Brandon Aiyuk before missing out on the Davante Adams sweepstakes.
The results of Week 8 further crushed Pittsburgh's chances of landing a play-making wide receiver. With a Rams unexpected win over the Vikings on Thursday Night Football, Cooper Kupp is no longer a possibility. Meanwhile, a season-ending collarbone injury to Jaguars WR Christian Kirk takes another weapon off the table.
Hope is fading fast, and if the Steelers want to land a needle-moving wide receiver, they need to offer a king's ransom.
Recently, I wrote about one long-shot trade option that would make sense for the Steelers in a blockbuster deal. Chris Olave of the Saints is a fantastic young player, but acquiring him means New Orleans must be willing to part with one of their best building blocks.
There's reason to believe they could do so.
Steelers should offer everything but the kitchen sink for Chris Olave
In Week 8, the Saints suffered a 26-8 blowout loss to the Chargers as starting quarterback Derek Carr has been unable to work his way back to the field after sustaining an oblique injury. This has resulted in New Orleans falling to 2-6 on the season -- tied for the second-worst record in the NFL entering the halfway point of the season.
But the biggest reason Olave could be traded is because of the Saints' nightmarish salary cap situation in 2025. New Orleans is projected to be over $81 million in the salary cap hole next year, and digging themselves out this time is going to be next to impossible.
All the while, Olave is entering a contract year, and getting an extension done won't be easy. Instead of continuing to kick money down the road and lessen their chances of becoming competitive again, the Saints could name their price for their price for the 24-year-old receiver.
Much like Pittsburgh's blockbuster deal for Minkah Fitzpatrick in 2019, it would take a lot to pull this off. In fact, landing Olave would likely be even more costly. The Steelers could be looking at giving up their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft plus a future Day 2 draft choice.
While this seems like a gross overpay for a wide receiver who will soon need an extension, the time to capitalize on a window is now. Olave is a proven receiver who can take this offense to the next level, but the Saints will want to be richly compensated (and rightfully so).
Landing Chris Olave in a blockbuster trade feels unrealistic, and the Saints are one of those franchises that will never admit things are as bad as they actually are. Still, Omar Khan and the Steelers should be on the phone with New Orleans asking a 2-6 team to name their price for their best receiver.