The New Orleans Saints reportedly explored alternative ways to upgrade their receiving corps before drafting Jordyn Tyson. According to PHNX's Johnny Venerable, the Saints and Arizona Cardinals held preliminary trade discussions involving Marvin Harrison Jr. in the spring.
Venerable reported that Arizona's motivation included acquiring assets to pursue quarterback Ty Simpson, who the Los Angeles Rams picked at No. 13 overall. New Orleans ultimately went another direction, selecting Tyson out of Arizona State with the No. 8 pick in April. A deal would have reunited Harrison with Saints receiver Chris Olave. The two were teammates at Ohio State in 2021, before their careers took them to different NFL teams.
Then reports surfaced Saturday, as ESPN
and NFL Network said Arizona was finalizing a trade involving Harrison. He is expected to miss Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions while the details are finalized, though those reports didn't identify a destination.
Harrison, selected with pick No. 4 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, has five catches for 85 yards and one touchdown through four games this season. He has totaled 108 receptions for 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns across 33 career games with Arizona.
The timing of New Orleans' reported interest matters here. Venerable described preliminary discussions from the spring, and his posts didn't indicate that the Saints had resumed negotiations or were now involved in the deal being finalized.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Report: Saints, Cardinals discussed Marvin Harrison Jr. trade
