Saints Need To Call Bills If Next Two Games Fall Flat
The New Orleans Saints have two more games to go before the 2025 National Football League trade deadline.
New Orleans will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday and follow up with a Week 9 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on the road before the Nov. 4th trade deadline arrives. At 1-6, the Saints already look like a team that at least could consider trading pieces away. There have been rumors left and right about which guys the Saints could move. Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave are the two who remain the most talked-about trade candidates.
Sure, there's been some buzz about Alvin Kamara. But, he made it clear he'd rather retire than get traded. Other guys like Cam Jordan and Demario Davis have had their names thrown around, but have been with New Orleans seemingly forever. Unless they want to get moved, it's hard to believe the Saints would trade leaders of the franchise like that. Shaheed and Olave are more up in the air, especially because Shaheed is going to be a free agent. The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia linked them both to the Buffalo Bills as well as possible fits.
The Saints should call the Bills
"WR Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints," Buscaglia said. "As I wrote ahead of the bye week, Olave is legitimately a perfect fit for the Bills schematically as the locked-in Z receiver. He can challenge all three levels of the defense as an outstanding separator and target earner, and he still has a ceiling to reach in his game. If added, he would become a go-to target for Josh Allen. His cap hit for 2025 can easily fit the Bills’ limited cap structure this season, and he’s also signed for 2026 on his fifth-year option, with the potential to become a long-term member of the franchise if all goes well...
"Shaheed is not as clean a fit alongside Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir as Olave. Still, Shaheed would immediately give the Bills something they don’t have on their roster — deep speed, the ability to take the top off the defense and the actual conversion on those chances. However, the Bills showed last year with the Amari Cooper acquisition that they’ll take a player who usually lines up at X receiver and play them at Z receiver opposite Coleman, so they could do the same with Shaheed because of the new dimension he brings to the offense."
The Bills would be a perfect trade partner for the Saints simply because of the fact that they have a clear need at receiver and the seaosn hasn't been as smooth as expected. The Bills are 4-2 and actually are behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East. Buffalo is a contender, but needs more firepower. That's where the Saints could come into play. With the season not going as planned and not many options out there better than Olave or Shaheed, that could New Orleans leverage in trade talks and bring a pretty penny back.
This is speculation at this point, but New Orleans should have its eye on Buffalo.
Browns make surprise QB move Before Patriots game as Shedeur Sanders injury pops up
The Cleveland Browns will allow third-round rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel to make his fourth career start against the New England Patriots.
But the Browns could be without their backup.
According to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns have elevated quarterback Bailey Zappe from the practice squad as the team is listing Shedeur Sanders as questionable with a back injury.
Sanders was named Cleveland’s backup quarterback after Browns general manager Andrew Berry traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.
While Sanders is the team’s backup, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed to the media that he has not received reps with the first team offense. Since Gabriel is a rookie QB as well, those reps are valuable. Gabriel did receive first-team reps when Flacco was the team’s starter.
However, Stefanski said that Sanders was still getting plenty of activity during other sessions at practice.
Sanders dealt with an oblique injury that sidelined him from a few training camp sessions this summer. He ultimately was ruled out for Cleveland’s second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Zappe’s elevation points towards the Browns potentially keeping Sanders on the shelf against the Patriots. It’s unthinkable that Stefanski would bench Gabriel mid-game, but in the event of injury to the sub-six-foot quarterback, Zappe could see action before Sanders.
Zappe started a game for the Browns last season. He completed 51 percent of his passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Ironically, he started eight games throughout his first two seasons in the NFL with the Patriots.
Sanders exploded onto the scene with the Browns this preseason. The Browns stopped his dramatic NFL Draft slide when they selected him with the No. 144 overall pick.
Despite the fifth-round selection, Sanders endeared himself to the fanbase with a dazzling, two touchdown performance in Cleveland’s preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. But he was unable to play in Cleveland’s next preseason game against the Eagles and crashed down to earth against the Los Angeles Rams, where he was benched after being sacked five times in limited action.
The Browns have patiently developed Sanders behind the scenes. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the expectation is that the Browns will take a look at Sanders some point this season.
That might have to wait at least one more week – as the former Colorado quarterback will enter Foxborough as questionable with Zappe being elevated from the practice squad against his former team.
