There are Pittsburgh Steelers fans who are still upset about Omar Khan trading George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. After thinking we could see a lethal combination of Pickens and DK Metcalf boxing out defenders down the field, the Steelers are back to square one. But perhaps there's a method to their madness.
On Friday, Andrew Filliponi of 93.7 The Fan claimed in a post on X that the Steelers are 'working on a trade' for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave, per his source, Adam Crowley.
Take this with a grain of salt. This 'trade rumor' may be nothing more than Pittsburgh poking around to see if the Saints are interested. However, it's not hard to see why the Steelers would be all for this.
Olave is everything that DK Metcalf is not. He can work the intermediate parts of the field with fluid hips and smooth route-running. The first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2022 opened his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons before missing half the year with injuries in 2024.
The combination of Metcalf and Olave carving up defenses would be a beautiful sight, and Olave's skill set is actually a better complement for Pittsburgh than what they would have had if they had kept Pickens around.
But there are some big red flags here that make a potential trade feel like a disaster waiting to happen.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must avoid trading for Saints WR Chris Olave
In terms of character and skill, Chris Olave is a safe player to bet on in a trade. Unfortunately, his scary injury history is not. Since 2020, the talented wide receiver has sustained five concussions, per Draft Sharks—two of which came in the first half of the 2024 season before the New Orleans Saints shut him down for the remainder of the year.
This Tua Tagovailoa-like concussion history is reason enough to steer clear of Olave, but it makes even less sense when you consider his contract situation.
Olave is entering a contract year with the Saints and will soon require a new deal. Will the Steelers be willing to dish out to keep Olave around for the long haul if they just handed Metcalf a $150 million deal with $30 million per season? I doubt they would.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could add additional help at the wide receiver position, but based on the makeup of their roster, this should come through the NFL Draft in the future, not a trade for an injury-prone player searching for a contract extension.