March 1, 2026, 3:50 p.m. CT

This year’s NFL Combine is drawing to a close, and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave has been at the center of some rumormongering. He’s set to play on his fifth-year option with the Saints in 2026 before becoming a free agent in 2027 — unless the team can sign him to a lucrative extension first. Until he puts pen to paper on a new deal, other teams are going to be wondering if he might be moved. And Cleveland Browns fans have been daydreaming about the idea of getting Olave back to Ohio, where he starred at Ohio State. If some of them got their way they’d pair him with Shedeur Sanders.

Some fuel was thrown on the fire by Jared Mueller for SB Nation’s Dawgs By Nature site, who wrote that the Browns will “revisit trade ideas from the previous trade deadline just a few months later to see if they can happen again,” saying “WR Chris Olave is an example of that and is back on the Browns trade radar.” He paused to talk about the number of podcasters attending Radio Row at the combine and how the media landscape as changed before adding “Did you like how I slipped that Olave note in there and moved on quickly? I’m sure you didn’t miss it.” Mueller mentioned another former Buckeyes receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr., as a different receiver the Browns have “at least touched base on acquiring.”

Sanders visited Roosevelt Middle School in West Palm Beach, Fla. to speak to students and faculty at a meet-and-greet. When a schoolteacher suggested the Browns trade for Olave or Harrison, he responded with “Hey, if they come, that will be cool.” Sanders urged the teacher to repeat her suggestion into the microphone, adding “Now they’ll know for sure.”

It’s a fun moment. Seeing the reactions from kids when a real-life NFL player walks into the room is always priceless. Good on Sanders for using his platform to encourage young scholars and brighten the school day for a lot of people.

And of course he’s going to co-sign the idea of getting Olave to Cleveland. The Browns’ only wide receiver with more than 21 catches last year was Jerry Jeudy (50), with Cedric Tillman, Isaiah Bond, Malachi Corley, Jamari Thrash, and Gage Larvadain combining for 67 receptions. Nobody knows that group needs more help than one of the guys throwing to them.

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Does that mean a trade sending Olave to the Browns is imminent? No. Word on the Saints beat is that both sides want to get a deal done, they both acknowledge it’ll be expensive, and they haven’t yet agreed on the guaranteed money. Olave wants security for his future and the Saints want to protect themselves in case his injury history flares up again. They probably aren’t far enough apart to scuttle a deal and send Olave out of town. This is being characterized as a “when, not if” situation. Count on him catching passes from a second-year quarterback in 2026 — but it’ll be Tyler Shough, not Shedeur Sanders.