Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore walks along the sideline during the game against the New York Giants during the second quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Kellen Moore Perfectly Summed Up ‘Bittersweet’ Saints Deadline

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Nov 5, 2025 9:28 AM ET

The New Orleans Saints' offense is going to look a bit different when they take the field on Sunday to take on the Carolina Panthers?

There may not be a team out there that needs a bye week more. Last week, the Saints installed a rookie quarterback over the course of a few days ahead of a matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Now, the trade deadline has passed and the Saints traded away No. 2 wide receiver, Rashid Shaheed, and offensive lineman, Trevor Penning.

Fortunately, the Saints will have a week to breathe after facing the Panthers because there have been a lot of changes in a short amount of time.

After the deadline passed, Saints head coach Kellen Moore discussed the day, and specifically the "bittersweet" deal to send Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks, as transcribed by Audacy Sports' Jeff Nowak.

The Saints had a busy day on Tuesday

"Trades are really hard in this league," Moore said. "There’s a personal side of this thing that always naturally grabs you. Loved Shaheed, one of the nicest people you can possible meet in the NFL. He’s an awesome person. He’s competitive. He’s had so much success in this league and he’s earned it through his whole entire journey in this league and so there’s a bittersweet component to this.

"We understand the business side of this. There’s an opportunity that from our team standpoint there’s some value in this moving forward as far as the assets you collect. We have some younger players that we feel like we’ll certainly have opportunities moving forward that we’re excited about, and you know, for Shaheed he’s going to go out there and I’m sure he’s going to play really, really well for Seattle and continue the success that he’s carried."

His comments make sense and are unsurprising. It is bittersweet to see a player like Shaheed go. He was set to enter free agency after the season, but also was a key component in Moore's offense as well. Penning is someone whose job it was to protect the rookie quarterback, so that's important as well.

The Saints did get a return for Shaheed that could help the team in draft and there are guys on the team to be excited about, like Devaughn Vele perhaps, but overall, still a tough day.

Shaheed had 44 catches for 499 yards and two touchdowns before the trade. In Tyler Shough's first start in the NFL, Shaheed was the guy he targeted the most (9). Now, the offense needs to find a way through one more game before regrouping and fully adjusting after the deadline.

More NFL: Impact Of Saints-Chargers Last-Second Trevor Penning Deal

This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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