The New Orleans Saints have a lot of work to do.

Most of the noise out there will be about pending free agents or which guys the franchise should try to bring to town. But that’s not all. The Saints have pieces worth building around. And with that being said, there are pieces worth investing in with long-term deals.

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Saints wide receiver Chris Olave certainly fits that description. After the season came to a close, Olave made it known that he is open to the idea of a long-term deal in New Orleans.

The Saints should hand Chris Olave a new deal

“Man, it helps a lot,” Olave said. “I feel like the first couple of years it was hard to be able to say that I was stable. It helps a lot with the bigger picture. It makes me want to stay here even more. I know what’s going to be here with [Kellen Moore]. [Tyler Shough’s], like I said, a great quarterback, and that’s probably the main two things you need as a receiver. So, it makes me want to get that contract done even more and hopefully it happens soon.”

Despite big-name pending free agents, including Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, Taysom Hill and Alontae Taylor, Olave’s future has been getting a lot of buzz. ESPN shared a column in which insiders from each team broke down the biggest question for each franchise. For the Saints, that was whether New Orleans would give Olave a new deal.

“New Orleans Saints,” ESPN’s Katherine Terrell wrote. “Do the Saints extend wide receiver Chris Olave? Olave is coming off a career-best season in which he caught 100 passes for 1,163 yards in 16 games played. His big season came only a year after he pondered retirement because of sustaining several concussions in 2024.

“The 2022 first-round pick will now play on his fifth-year option unless the Saints give him a long-term extension. New Orleans lacked other offensive playmakers in the second half of the 2025 season, so reaching a long-term contract with Olave could be one of its big priorities this spring as it looks to build around quarterback Tyler Shough.”

This shows how important Olave is to this franchise. Fortunately, he is under contract in 2026. But he currently isn’t signed beyond that. The Saints have other holes to worry about, but arguably need to get something on paper with Olave this offseason as well.

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