Between now and the Week 10 trade deadline, the New Orleans Saints should commit to keeping an open mind.
Though they might not want to admit it, the Saints will probably be one of the NFL's worst teams this season. Maybe rookie quarterback Tyler Shough will shock the world and become an instant star, but he's taking over a roster that barely scraped together five wins as is.
After years of bad salary cap management and whiffing on draft and free-agent acquisitions, the Saints have to be willing to trade away some big names this season if they can get good value from contending teams.
Fourth-year wideout and special teamer Rashid Shaheed will be a free agent next spring, so although the 2023 Pro Bowler isn't hurting the cap now, New Orleans should listen on offers for him all year, even if he likely wouldn't be moved until the trade deadline.
Meanwhile, Last Word on Sports' Anthony Palacios has an intriguing potential destination in mind for Shaheed: the Dallas Cowboys.
"The Dallas Cowboys have two explosive weapons in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, but it doesn’t mean they can’t add another. Jalen Tolbert is good, but he needs to prove he can be great, or else this will be his last season with Dallas," Palacios wrote.
"Dak Prescott wins most matchups when slinging it in the slant routes, and this could be perfect for someone like Shaheed, who could excel in this offense."
Shaheed, 26, had 349 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his six games last season. He has a punt return touchdown in each of the last two seasons, and averaged a career-best 15.9 yards per punt return in 2024.
New Orleans can afford to hang onto Shaheed for now, but it would be smart business to move him if the price is high. And we've seen the Cowboys drastically overpay for receivers in the past (remember when they gave up a fourth-round pick for Jonathan Mingo?), so that's entirely possible.
