CHICAGO — The price for Chris Olave is not the same as it was last week.
Not for the New Orleans Saints, who have been trying to reach a contract extension with the talented wide receiver. Not for other teams interested in trading for the former first-rounder. Not for anyone trying to leverage the concussion history, the lack of contested catches or issues with drops against him.
There may have been a scenario unfolding earlier this season in which it was possible to conceive that Olave would be available at a discount. But now?
“I feel like I’m getting back in my groove,” Olave said.
Alright, let’s slow down. One game probably isn’t going to fully determine whether the Saints will now back up the brink’s trunk for the 25-year-old, nor is it a sign that teams should be willing to part with premium draft picks to pry the wideout away from the black and gold.
But it wasn’t hard to think about Olave’s future in Sunday’s 26-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Unlike when a pair of crucial drops last week contributed to the team’s loss against the Patriots, Olave made big-time plays against Chicago and accounted for both of New Orleans’ touchdowns. He torched the Bears’ secondary for a 57-yard gain. He ran a crisp post to haul in a 21-yard touchdown. He maintained control after a hard hit to secure his second score.
This was the performance Olave and the Saints had been waiting to see. This was the performance that made it justifiable to wonder whether he could still be a star.
But as impressive as Olave’s five-catch, 98-yard day was, it was also impossible to ignore the context of the Saints’ season.
At 1-6, the Saints figure to be a team central to this year’s Nov. 4 trade deadline. And if the losses continue to mount, this performance also made it justifiable to wonder whether it would be best for the Saints to get as much as they can for Olave — just as they did last year with cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Olave, somehow, has been the subject of both trade rumors and extension talks.
“We’ve been having (contract) conversations since the beginning of the year,” Olave said. “Like I said at the beginning of the year, I feel like I got to prove that I’m that type of player.”
If Olave’s stance is that he has to prove he’s worthy of a big-time extension, does that mean he wants to wait on signing a new deal until after the season? Or is he willing to do something earlier if the opportunity presents itself?
“You want me to sign something after a good game?” Olave said with a grin. “I feel like, man, it’s just building. … I’m getting back comfortable, coming off two concussions from last year.”
Olave’s health history is why contract negotiations could be complicated. Nine wide receivers make more than $30 million annually, and though Olave began his career with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, that’s a lot of money to commit to a player who has suffered four concussions in the last three seasons.
But Olave’s talent is undeniable, which is also why he’s been linked to various trade possibilities. Days earlier, Olave laughed off the speculation as internet “buzz” and said that conversations with people within the Saints made him “very confident” about the situation.
In the visiting locker room Sunday, though, Olave was asked to clarify — Did those conversations make him confident that the Saints wouldn’t trade him, or was he simply confident that he knew what was going on?
“Just communication, clear communication,” Olave said. “That’s all I’m confident about. It’s clear communication, and we’re on the same page.”
That’s how general manager Mickey Loomis operates, teammate Brandin Cooks said. Years ago, the veteran wide receiver went through what Olave is facing now. And in his case, the Saints ended up trading Cooks to the New England Patriots.
“I’ll tell you right now: Mickey, from a GM standpoint, I have a ton of respect for him,” Cooks said. “Not just in the past from when I was younger, but even now, because the dialogue he has with you, talking with you, asking in a sense what would you like?
“I think he’s handling it great, because some GMs won’t talk to you and just do what they gotta do.”
Last year, Loomis ultimately traded Lattimore to the Washington Commanders because the haul was too good to ignore. The Saints netted a package that included a third-round, fourth-round and sixth-round pick in exchange for Lattimore and a fifth-round pick. That trade has aged even better in hindsight, with the 29-year-old cornerback now looking like he’s on the downside of his career.
Olave, though, isn’t on the decline. Sunday’s game reminded everyone what was possible — in more ways than one.
“He just showed he’s still Chris,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said. “He’s a dog.”