The Giants kicked off trade season with a bang by trading cornerback Eli Apple and defensive tackle Damon Harrison on back-to-back days last week. Many expected the Giants to continue their demolition on Tuesday, but that did not come to fruition. 
At 1-7, the Giants have no real hope of making the playoffs this year, so a complete fire sale would have been logical and largely accepted by the team’s passionate fanbase. There were real pieces to move, too, including cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Landon Collins.
Jenkins, who just celebrated his 30th birthday, drew the attention of the Chiefs this week. With two-and-a-half years to go on his five-year, $62.5MM deal, the Giants had an opportunity to add to their draft stockpile while dropping one of the highest-paying cornerback contracts in the NFL. If the Giants decide to cut Jenkins this offseason, they’ll save $7.75MM against the cap, but they’ll be left with nearly as much ($7MM) in dead money.
The decision to keep Collins is certainly understandable since he is just 24 years old. However, he’s in the final year of his rookie deal and figures to command serious offers on the open market. The Giants reportedly have concerns about how well Collins fits in their new defensive scheme, so it’s not a given that they’ll make a strong play to keep him. The Chiefs and Buccaneers were reportedly interested in Collins, but no team was willing to meet the Giants’ asking price of a 2019 second-rounder and a late-round pick in 2020. Rival GMs made offers, but no one ponied up more than a third-round choice.
The Giants had other vets to dangle, including defensive end Olivier Vernon and linebacker Alec Ogletree, but the Giants passed on making any additional deals on Tuesday. Was that a mistake by the Giants, or do you think they did enough in the way of midseason rebuilding? Click below (or here, for app users) to weigh in and sound off in the comment section:
Sell sell sell! You won’t compete for at least 2 years!
who cares..giants will be the basement of the NFC east. and I hope it’s for a long long long long long long long time!!
Too late now. They definitely missed the boat and did not do enough. Should have traded Shepard, Collins, Jenkins, and Vernon. They need to stockpile picks.
I’m not a Giants fan but I think their front office is doing a solid job considering they are totally handcuffed. Manning is an expensive albatross. They can’t deal him because no team wants an aging average QB that comes with a large cap hit. The Giants can’t go the other way and have a fire sale because that would force them to dump Beckham who they just resigned at a high cost.
They could’ve drafted a franchise QB. Their front office shouldn’t get any sympathy. Eli had been finished for at least a couple of years.
That’s why they should have drafted a QB
Tell Mara to stay home, fire all members of the front office, get an off. Line coach, a special teams coach, and get scouts that recognizes talent. Do not hire anybody with links to the Giants in the last 25 years!!
Taking a different viewpoint I believe the Giants would have dealt several of the names already mentioned had the offers been more equitable. Example: Collins is worth a second round pick absolutely. I am glad they kept him rather than just give talent up for way-less than market value. Some of these guys will go after the season so we will see if they were better off waiting for better offers.
He is a free agent in 8 more games. There is no way that is worth a 2nd rounder. They were insane to turn down a 3rd round pick
I think they could very well franchise Collins (as has been rumored). I believe he is a difference maker with the right defensive scheme. Glad they kept him.