To say the trade deadline didn't go the way many New York Giants fans would have hoped would be a massive understatement. Giants faithful wouldn't have even known the trade deadline had happened if it weren't for social media updates.
By the time the Eastern timezone clocks hit 4:00 p.m., general manager Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll had nothing to show for it. No help for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. No addition by subtraction moves, either.
Related: Giants' biggest loser from directionless trade deadline is painfully obvious
This was the last real shot at improving the roster before the season ends. Which all but confirms everyone in the organization is comfortable punting on 2025 — by all accounts, it's already onto the offseason. As with every event, there are inherent winners and losers. Here they are in all their (lack of) glory.
2 winners (and 4 losers) from Giants' borefest of a trade deadline
Winner No. 1: Jakobi Meyers and Rashid Shaheed
Both Meyers and Shaheed were linked to the G-Men before the trade deadline. With Malik Nabers sidelined for the year with a torn ACL, the thought was that Dart could use some playmaker help to help with the offensive lift. Well, Meyers is off to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Shaheed is off to the Seattle Seahawks, two teams in better position to win than Big Blue.
Neither player is exactly young, 29 and 27, respectively, meaning they'd both probably prefer to not join a rebuild. Playing with Dart would be quite the consolation prize, regardless both are in better positions, if not for just right now.
Winner No. 2: Daniel Jones' redemption arc
Danny Dimes' unceremonious end in East Rutherford has spawned a new version that's bigger and better than ever: Indiana Jones. The 28-year-old is in the middle of a career year — we're talking legitimate MVP consideration — and the Indianapolis Colts have fully bought into the experience.
How much confidence do the Colts have in their franchise QB? Only enough to swing a blockbuster trade for former NY Jets stud cornerback Sauce Gardner. A trade like that speaks volumes about how Indy views its guy under center. Kudos to Jones for turning his career around.
Loser No. 1: Jaxson Dart's development
Yes, the Giants are 2-7. However, when you have a player of Dart's caliber, you do anything and everything to get him the help he needs. This is a massively important formative year in his development, and taking a backseat on investing in both his present and future is organizational malpractice.
Loser No. 2: The Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll regime
Three words: See you later. Standing pat is a choice, but there might be some strings being pulled behind the curtain. There's a possibility ownership told them to do nothing with the understanding the plug is being pulled at the end of the season, if not before.
Conversely, if they did try to make a move and failed, so that's also another bad look for a regime that's been in the dark the better part of the past three years.
Loser No. 3: Giants fans anxiously refreshing social media
For those refreshing their feeds so much they have blisters on their fingers, welcome to the club. In what was a slower-than-expected day overall, Big Blue doing absolutely nothing surely won't excite Giants fans in the slightest.
I'm not even talking solely about bringing someone in — they just didn't do anything. Anyone expecting a Neal or Hyatt trade was essentially left on read in the worst way. It's always a bummer when expectations aren't met, and there's no other way to describe Tuesday's deadline than an objective disappointment for the fanbase.
Loser No. 4: Giants' future NFC East matchups
The G-Men weren't the only team that sat out of the deadline extravaganza. The Washington Commanders did as well. That's the good news coming from the NFC East. The rest... is not so fun.
Leave it to Eagles' GM Howie Roseman to take some big swings. Philly ended up grabbing one of the top pass-rushers on the market in Jaelan Phillips, along with two cornerbacks in Jaire Alexander and Michael Carter II.
Those were strong moves, but the clear winner of the deadline was the Dallas Cowboys, making the Giants even bigger losers. The Stars brought in veteran linebacker Logan Wilson Tuesday morning, and saved the fireworks for an infuriatingly major Quinnen Williams trade.
There's no way around it, in the already tough NFC East, post-deadline NFC East just got a lot harder to get through moving forward.