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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Giants had their firesale one year ago, so they don't have a lot left to trade right now. Still, with a season going nowhere and the trading deadline less than a week away, nothing with Giants GM Dave Gettleman can be ruled out.
They do still have some valuable assets (cornerback Janoris Jenkins), some possibly valuable pieces (left tackle Nate Solder) and some real wild cards (quarterback Eli Manning, tight end Evan Engram). With the Giants still a year, maybe two, away from finishing their rebuilding project, at the right price (almost) anything may go.
Like what? Here's all the latest information on the Giants' trade possibilities, including sourced material and rumors and reports on the few tradeable assets the Giants have:
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins
He remains the most valuable and likely piece the Giants have to sell because cornerbacks are prized possessions in this NFL era. He's not a No. 1 corner anymore and he's probably overpriced, but as one scout told SNY last week: "He's still good. And in this pass-happy league, everyone needs cornerbacks."
So do the Giants, but Jenkins - at age 30 and only one more year left on his contract - isn't the future anymore. The future is rookie DeAndre Baker and, the Giants hope, second-year pro Sam Beal. Jenkins, by all accounts, has really helped the young corners on the roster. But if the Giants can get a third- or fourth-round pick for him (not impossible considering he has no guaranteed money left on his contract) it's time to let him go.
Incidentally, you know who needs corner help? The Philadelphia Eagles. Trading in the division is usually frowned upon, but why not see if they'll give a mid-round pick in return?
Tight end Evan Engram
The 25-year-old Engram is a real wild-card here, and his name has come up quite a bit in discussions with league scouts and executives. He was a Jerry Reese draft pick and his contract is up at the end of the 2020 season, unless the Giants pick up his fifth-year option (which they have to decide by May). No one is sure how well he fits into the Gettleman-Pat Shurmur plan. He's more of a pure receiver than a two-way tight end, and he's only shown flashes of being explosive. But there's enough talent and potential there that some people are intrigued.
How intrigued? That's unclear. "He's hurt way too much, but he's a big problem when he's healthy," one AFC scout said. "His speed makes him a matchup nightmare. I don't know if they're using him right, but another team could."
Again, offensive weapons (usually receivers) tend to draw higher picks in return. In the right system Engram could be very valuable. The Giants could deal him and use tight end Rhett Ellison (a Shurmur favorite) in a limited pass-catching role where he's been effective at times.
Still, there's no sign of anything hot, but he's a name that some are watching … and wondering about.
Left tackle Nate Solder
The latest rumor/report has him in a possible deal to the Cleveland Browns. It's unclear if that's a real possibility or just speculation, but the Browns supposedly do want to replace their current left tackle and have a history of dealing with the Giants (see: Beckham, Odell).
Two problems with that, though:
1.Can't the Browns do better than Solder, who is struggling for the second straight season with the Giants? "He's not that big-money player anymore," said one scout.
And 2. As one Giants source said when asked if they'd deal Solder: "And replace him with whom?" Good point. The Giants rebuilt their starting offensive line through trades and free agency, but have no depth and no promising youth. Gettleman, king of the Hog Mollies, has drafted two offensive lineman in his two drafts - and just one tackle: George Asafo-Adjei in the seventh round this year.
They probably want someone to be able to protect Daniel Jones' blindside.
Linebacker Alec Ogletree
The recent signing of veteran Deone Bucannon gives them a little wiggle room in their otherwise-weak linebacking corps if they wanted to trade the 28-year-old middle linebacker (although Bucannon isn't really a replacement, since he's kind of a safety-linebacker hybrid). It's not clear that the Giants want to trade Ogletree anyway, because he has value to them as the leader of a very young defense. They can also cut him after the season and shave about $8 million off their 2020 salary cap.
There doesn't seem to be a big market for him, even though he has no guaranteed money left on his contract. But maybe someone in the playoff race might give up a late-round pick, like the fifth the Giants got for defensive tackle Damon Harrison last year.
Quarterback Eli Manning
There was a brief thought that maybe the Kansas City Chiefs would come calling after Patrick Mahomes got hurt, but he seems fine now so that window is closed. It's probably a moot point anyway, unless a contender loses a quarterback on Sunday. Manning doesn't want to be traded (and he has a no-trade clause) and the Giants don't want to trade him. Unless a catastrophe happens somewhere this weekend, the only decision with Manning is whether he goes elsewhere in 2020 or retires at the end of the year.
Receiver Golden Tate
The signing of the 31-year-old hasn't worked out as planned for the Giants, thanks to his untimely four-game suspension for performance enhancing drugs. That blindsided the Giants who saw him as the key to life after Odell Beckham, at least in the short term.
Maybe he still can be, but the Giants have been really impressed with rookie Darius Slayton, their fifth-round pick (14-272-1 in five games). This would be a hard deal to make with Sterling Shepard (concussion) still out and no other viable receiver to join Shepard and Slayton. Daniel Jones needs someone to throw to, after all.
But receivers have drawn high picks on the open market in recent years. Tate's not going to be worth a first-rounder to anyone. But the Philadelphia Eagles gave up a third-round pick to get him last year. He's worth dangling to see if anyone would make a deal like that again.