The Saints maneuvered to make two first-round picks in 2022. One has worked out, the other has not. As a result, Mickey Loomis said Wednesday the team will only pick up one fifth-year option from that first-round haul.
Chris Olave‘s contract will now run through 2026 (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport), but Trevor Penning will be thrown into a contract year by virtue of New Orleans declining his fifth-year option.
Yet to make a Pro Bowl, Olave has also seen his 2025 concussion issues impede him on the fifth-year option front. The Ohio State product failed to hit a 75% snap share in his first two seasons, but had he played at least 50% of New Orleans’ offensive snaps last year, he would have still found his way onto the third tier on the option structure. By missing nine games in 2024, Olave will land on the bottom tier here. That will place his 2026 base salary at $15.49MM.
Penning also lands on the bottom tier, which is $16.69MM for offensive linemen. Considering Penning’s uneven first three seasons, he was never a realistic candidate to see his option exercised. While Loomis stressed (via NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett) this does not mean the Saints do not have confidence in their 2024 right tackle starter, this does move him into a walk year.
Chosen out of Northern Iowa, Penning has been tried at LT and RT. The Saints displaced him from the blind side by drafting Taliese Fuaga in last year’s first round. While Penning did bounce back from 2022 injury trouble and a 2023 benching to make 17 RT starts, he has not justified the Saints’ No. 19 overall investment.
As the Saints are being connected to another first-round tackle pick — as they consider acquiring a quarterback in Round 2 or a via a trade-up move from that No. 40 spot — they will hope Olave and Rashid Shaheed can stay healthy in 2025. Olave has shown difference-making potential when on the field, working with Andy Dalton and Derek Carr. The 2022 No. 11 overall pick, who acquired two trades to land that year, posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to start his career but sustained two concussions last year. This shut down Olave to close what turned into a lost Saints season.
The young WR talent spoke with specialists, and the Saints exercising his option points to organizational confidence he can shake this concerning issue. The Saints may be on the lookout for more receiving help in the draft, but they did reunite with Brandin Cooks in free agency. Olave will be asked to lead the team’s first Kellen Moore-overseen receiving corps, with Cooks and Shaheed in clear supporting roles.
If he was on a lower salary, Penning would be a decent depth piece. He’s a good run blocker. He commits too many penalties though and grades out as one of the worst pass blockers in the league. Smart move not picking up the option.
Hoping for good health for Olave. Those concussions are nothing to play with, though.