4 More Potential Giants Trade Candidates Who Are on the Roster Bubble

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen was able to pull off what many thought wouldn’t be possible and acquire a sixth-round draft pick–no, not a conditional pick, but a locked in pick–for offensive lineman Daniel Faalele, a player who not only struggled since joining the team as a free agent in the spring, but who had a horrible preseason showing and looked to be a sure candidate for the waiver wire.

The deal to move Faalele to the Jaguars raises the question of just how many other veteran players on the roster bubble might be trade candidates who can bring in additional draft assets.

Here are four possibilities.

WR Darius Slayton

New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

There are three big knocks against Darius Slayton, the longest-tenured Giants player. The first is obviously his contract, which carries a whopping $15.911 million cap hit, a lot for a guy who right now projects to be behind Malik Nabers and, potentially, Malachi Fields.

Slayton also has $9.749 million of his $12.25 million base salary guaranteed, which means that if he were to be traded, the Giants would almost certainly have to eat some of that to facilitate a deal.

The second knock against Slayton is his declining production. Last year, when Nabers went down with his season-ending injury, Slayton’s pass targets decreased even further instead of increasing, as Wan’Dale Robinson, the slot receiver, became the go-to guy.

Since hitting a career-high 76 pass targets in 2023, Slayton’s targets, receptions, receiving yardage, and touchdowns have all declined while his dropped balls have increased over the last two seasons.

The third knock is that Slayton isn’t much of a run blocker. After topping out with a PFF 58.8 run blocking grade in 2020, he has hovered in the mid-40s in that department.

That said, some teams could benefit from having Slayton if he were made available for a trade. The Texans just lost Jayden Higgins to an ACL injury. The Saints are going to be without rookie Jordyn Tyson for at least a couple of months. The Raiders, Bills, and Falcons are longshots as well.

OL Jake Kubas

New York Giants guard Jake Kubas | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Kubas is still a young and relatively inexperienced interior offensive lineman who can give a team snaps at both guard spots and at center.

With Bryan Hudson having gotten second-team reps last week during starting center John Michael Schmitz’s absence, and Aaron Stinnie and Joshua Ezeudu emerging as the primary backup guards, it doesn’t look as though there will be room for Kubas on the 53-man roster.

The Los Angeles Chargers just lost their starting center, Tyler Biadasz, to an ACL injury. They have since moved Jake Slaughter, their second-round draft pick, into the starting role.

But Kubas, who in 21 snaps played in the preseason opener (11 at left guard, 10 at center), earned PFF grades of 79.8 overall, 79.7 in run blocking and 66.5 in pass blocking, could offer depth at center and at guard in exchange for a Day 3 pick.

ILB Darius Muasau

New York Giants linebacker Darius Muasau | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The additions of Arvell Reese, Tremaine Edmunds, and Jack Kelly, plus the return of Micah McFadden, have pretty much made the numbers stack up against Muasau, the team’s sixth-round draft pick in 2024.

Muasau has shown a high football IQ and has done a fairly decent job of quickly diagnosing running plays, using instincts to navigate through traffic to the ball carrier.

When he was pressed into starting action during 2024 and 2025, he held his own, plus he can give a team special teams special teams snaps.

Where his game comes up short is in two areas. The first is in coverage, where his average athleticism and size (6-foot-1, 230 pounds) put him at a disadvantage.

Add to that his durability issues–he had a concussion in September 2024 and was on IR last year following an ankle injury–and teams needing linebacker help might not want to surrender a draft pick if they can get him off waivers.

The Atlanta Falcons, who are overhauling their inside linebacker position following their loss of Kaden Elliss in free agency to the New Orleans Saints and the season-ending ACL injury suffered by their hybrid 2025 first-round draft pick Jalon Walker, could make them a strong potential trade partner.

OL Evan Neal

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

John Harbaugh decided to give Evan Neal, the team’s disappointing first-round draft pick from 2022, a mulligan on what was a one-year, veteran minimum deal that carried no guaranteed money.

The move was likely made because Neal, who last year started his conversion from tackle to guard, didn’t put enough on film to fully convince Harbaugh of the lineman’s chances of making a successful move.

Thus far, Neal hasn’t really moved the needle all that much in his favor. As already noted, Stinnie and Ezeudu have emerged as the backup guards behind starters Jon Runyan and Francis Mauigoa.

And when Mauigoa had to leave the Giants’ joint practice against the Dolphins early, Ezeudu, not Neal (who has been working mostly at right guard), stepped in with the first-team offense, further reinforcing that Neal is losing a grip on a backup spot.

That said, Neal’s physical tools and size might be too much for a team in need of offensive line depth to ignore. Among the teams that might have interest in adding to their offensive line are the Chargers, Packers, and Cardinals.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.

Add us as a preferred source on Google