Mickey Loomis announces Saints' decisions on 2026 options for Chris Olave, Trevor Penning

There's some real news for you before the 2025 NFL draft. On Wednesday, during his pre-draft press conference, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis announced his team's decisions on the fifth-year options for their two 2022 first-round picks.

Loomis said the Saints are picking up the fifth-year option for wide receiver Chris Olave, locking him in with the Saints through 2026. He'll earn about $15.4 million on that option next season and become a free agent in 2027. But the Saints are not exercising their option for right tackle Trevor Penning, making him a free agent after the upcoming 2025 season. Loomis added, "But that doesn't mean we don't love Trevor, and expect him to be a part of our team going forward."

It would have cost $16.6 million to pick up Penning's option for 2026, which just doesn't line up with his performance to this point. He flopped at left tackle before moving to the right side last season, where he showed some real promise. But it wasn't enough to guarantee him that kind of money. Instead, he'll go into 2025 with an opportunity to earn a long-term contract extension in 2026 if he can continue to trend up.

But that might also mean the Saints are looking to draft his replacement. Penning has shown growth after moving to right tackle, but not enough to keep the team from drafting a better option. If they can find a left tackle early on like Kelvin Banks Jr., who could push Taliese Fuaga back to the right tackle spot (his college position), they just might do it. What becomes of Penning at that point is anyone's guess. It doesn't feel likely that he'll get moved to left guard after learning to play on the right side and finally showing some positive progress there. Either way, it's beyond obvious at this point that he hasn't met expectations as a former first-round draft pick.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints decide on fifth-year options for Chris Olave, Trevor Penning