The Giants didn’t buy or sell at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
They did nothing.
Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll are 2-7 with a chance to set a new franchise record with 11 straight road losses Sunday in Chicago.
Acquiring an A-list player like Miami Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle would have been too expensive, especially for a team that is going to be picking in the Top 10 again.
The players Schoen would have been willing to trade away, like offensive lineman Evan Neal and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, didn’t generate interest for any meaningful return.
Schoen and Daboll are under pressure to win more games this season, as well, so trading a player like edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux for assets wouldn’t have helped that effort.
NFL teams don’t get better by getting rid of good players.
So the Giants on Tuesday looked through the windows of the casino but didn’t walk inside.
That stood in stark contrast to the Jets (1-7), who traded away top corner Sauce Gardner and top defensive lineman Quinnen Williams for a total of three first-round picks, a second-round pick, defensive tackle Mazi Smith and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.
The Jets are the only NFL franchise that manages at times to make the Giants look functional by comparison these days, but they just hired GM Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn to expensive long-term contracts.
So they’re pressing the reset button on a lost season and preparing to rebuild their roster with their own players.
The Cowboys (3-5-1), meanwhile, sent their 2026 second-rounder, 2027 first-rounder and Smith to the Jets to get Williams for the middle of their beleaguered defense. They also sent a seventh-round pick to Cincinnati for linebacker Logan Wilson.
Dallas has lost two in a row, but they have one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses and are betting on defensive upgrades putting them over the top to sneak into a playoff spot.
Plenty of receivers got traded. The Giants just didn’t end up the beneficiaries of any of those deals.
The Raiders sent receiver Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars for a fourth- and sixth-round pick. And the Saints shipped Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks for a fourth and a fifth.
The Giants don’t own a third-round pick in 2026 because they sent it to the Houston Texans when they traded up to select Jaxson Dart. So they have limited assets.
They also have a GM and a coach who are on the hot seat, and it’s dangerous to make major roster decisions out of desperation.
Better to stay put, recognize who the Giants are and let the chips fall at the end of the year.
