Analyst Makes Compelling Argument on Why Giants Should Trade Kayvon Thibodeaux

If there is one thing the New York Giants have been guilty of under general manager Joe Schoen, it’s holding onto players who are not in the long-term plans, to the point that they eventually leave via free agency. The team very rarely gets anything in return.

That practice hopefully will stop now that head coach John Harbaugh is in the building, wielding greater say over the roster’s direction.

And the first place the Giants can look to be proactive in getting something for a player who, on the surface, doesn’t appear to be in the long-term plans is outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Thibodeaux enters the option year of his rookie deal, with a $14.8 million cap hit for the coming season, which is about the 25th-highest for an outside linebacker.

While that is not a backbreaker cap-wise, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell argues that the Giants might be better off moving Thibodeaux for a draft pick and using that $14.8 million elsewhere.

“They could keep Thibodeaux and hope to land a compensatory pick in 2027, but they are likely to be active in free agency, which would make it more likely that Thibodeaux wouldn’t earn them a draft pick after leaving,” Barnwell said.

“Landing a guaranteed pick now and freeing up money to help address the offensive line and secondary might be a reasonable alternative for Giants GM Joe Schoen.”

Spot on.

First, there is no guarantee that the Giants, should they not be able to re-sign Thibodeaux after this season, will get a comp pick, not if the team is active in free agency this coming offseason and certainly not if the Giants’ own pending free agents whom the team allows to walk don’t draw contracts elsewhere that put New York into a position for a comp pick.

Second, it’s better to have the picks now, especially given that of the Giants’ seven draft picks, only two are currently in the top 100, which is not ideal for a team picking in the top five of the order.

While we agree with Barnwell that the Giants should look to trade Thibodeaux, we disagree with the return on the investment that he proposed, which is a swap with the Ravens in which the Giants send Baltimore Thibodeaux in exchange for their 2026 fourth-round draft pick.

If the Giants are going to make such a trade with the Ravens, we would rather they inquire about the Ravens’ third-round pick, which is currently the 80th pick in the draft order.

Although that would mean the Ravens would end up with just two picks in the top 100 (same as the Giants' current situation), the Ravens have a much healthier-looking cap situation than the Giants, not to mention a need at edge rusher, which is why such a deal might make sense for all involved.

The Giants? If they could get a third-round pick in a trade, they would replenish what they gave up to the Texans last year in their move up to acquire quarterback Jaxson Dart in the bottom of the first round with a pick that they could use at another position.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? Send it here.

More New York Giants Coverage