Trade opportunities often present themselves before the NFL regular season kicks off. Usually tied to roster cutdowns during or after the preseason games, the exhibition period of the offseason provides a chance for teams that may be looking to add starters or depth to their roster to do so at a lower price than the mid-season trade deadline.
This happens because a team debating a tough roster cut may end up being able to get a mid- to late-round pick in return for a player instead.
The New Orleans Saints may not have many offseason trade candidates, but the roster absolutely has talent that may draw interest from outside clubs. Here are three talented Saints players other teams could potentially target before the regular season begins.
Running back Alvin Kamara
While it appears increasingly likely that Kamara will be on the Saints’ roster in 2026 after arriving during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), there’s still a chance that the Saints decide that his role in New Orleans requires a pay cut to remain with the team. Should such an adjustment not be reached, there are several teams that would likely be willing to send over draft capital to add the running back to their roster.
Whether or not Kamara, who has said plainly before that he’d rather sip Piña Coladas on the beach than play outside of New Orleans, would be willing to entertain such a situation for a year is for another conversation.
But there’s little doubt that if a split were to be on the horizon between New Orleans and its star running back that several franchises would enter the conversation to try to lure the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year to their ranks.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler
Already mentioned among recent trade thinkpieces, Rattler could be another player that receives an opportunity outside of New Orleans. Many inside the Saints’ facility strongly believe that the third-year signal caller can be a starter in the league. But with quarterback Tyler Shough firmly implanted as the starter in New Orleans, Rattler’s chances in the Big Easy would be circumstantial.
“What Spencer did last year, I’m really proud of what he accomplished,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore said. “I think Spencer’s a really talented quarterback. He can play in this league. He can start in this league. I have all the confidence in the world in him.”
If a team that fell outside of the range of drafting a top quarterback in recent drafts wants to bring in a promising player with 13 games of starting experience to develop and compete, Rattler is sure to draw some eyes if veteran quarterback Zach Wilson ends up working out for New Orleans behind Shough.
Wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr.
Austin has a chance to be for another team what wide receiver Devaughn Vele was to the Saints in 2025. He’s a talented, physical player with promising traits and NFL size (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) that showed some impressive development at the end of last season.
When the Saints traded last offseason for Vele, the former Denver Broncos wideout was coming off of a season wherein he averaged 36.5 receiving yards per game in contests where he appeared in at least 25 offensive snaps (13 games).
Last year, Austin averaged 35 yards per game in matchups where he met the same conditions. He was a go-to option late in the UFL season for the Birmingham Stallions, contributing to their championship run 2024 before joining the Saints later that offseason. Since then, he’s hung around on the practice squad and was called into action late, showing growth in the process.
If a team is in need of another wideout to provide depth on their active roster, a strong cap and preseason by Austin could catch eyes.
