In 2022, we’ve seen some of the biggest trades in NFL history. Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams have all found new homes in blockbuster deals. One team that has been quiet in the period, due to salary cap issues inherited by the previous regime, has been the NY Giants.
This hasn’t always been the case, however, with the franchise being responsible for a number of extremely high-profile trades in its long and eventful history. Let’s take a look at four trades which changed the history of the franchise for the better.
4. Eli Manning in 2004
Undoubtedly the biggest trade in Giants history is the one which brought Eli Manning to East Rutherford. Manning is now known as one of the greatest Giants of all time. He brought two Super Bowl rings to the Big Apple, both on the back of Super Bowl MVP performances. Off the field he was also a star, winning the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award and being the face of the franchise for almost two decades.
He epitomized everything Giants fans loved about their team, and their city, in a 16-year career filled with memorable moments. The team that beat the 18-0 Patriots, the David Tyree helmet catch, an inch-perfect Super Bowl lob to Mario Manningham, and a recreation of the famous dirty dancing scene with Odell Beckham Jr. – all incredible (in their own way) moments in Giants history.
All involving Manning at quarterback. Famously – or infamously depending on who you ask – Manning was almost never a Giant. Something which would have changed NFL history dramatically.
Trade
After an outstanding career at Ole Miss, all the talk ahead of the 2004 draft was that Manning would be the No. 1 overall pick, held at the time by the San Diego Chargers.
The college standout had made it clear that he preferred not to play for San Diego ahead of the draft, however, stating his desire for the Chargers to go in another direction with their pick. Seemingly unphased, or potentially plotting a haul in a trade for the quarterback, the Chargers ignored Manning’s requests and drafted him anyway.
As it turns out, the decision was a good one by San Diego. New York was interested in Manning, and after some draft-day communication, it became clear the Giants would need to draft Philip Rivers, and send some further draft capital in order to facilitate a trade.
Ernie Accorsi, the Giants general manager at the time, would later reveal he had Ben Roethlisberger as his preferred choice with his pick, rather than the Chargers’ choice of Rivers.
"“I would have been happy with Rivers, but I wanted Ben. I took a risk. If he would have called back and said I’m backing out of this trade, there’s no Ben for me.” Accorsi told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette."
Fortunately for both sides, the Giants drafted Rivers and then traded him to San Diego along with a 2004 third-round pick and a first and fifth-round pick in 2005, altering the state of both franchises and the NFL for the next almost two decades.
Impact on the New York Giants
As it would later turn out, the Giants potentially couldn’t have gone wrong with their selection in 2004, with all three quarterbacks finishing with incredible NFL careers. Manning started 234 regular season games for the Giants, finishing his long career in New York with a list of accolades up there with some of the best to ever play.
His 366 career touchdowns on 57,023 yards would result in finishing as a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Super Bowl MVP, four-time Pro Bowler, and he’s the holder of almost all the franchise passing records to go with a number of NFL postseason records from that eventful 2011 run. You would be hard pressed to find a single New Yorker who would want that 2004 draft day to go any differently.
It may also be fair to say that San Diego and Pittsburgh are happy with how the 2004 draft day went as well.
Both Rivers and Roethlisberger would go on to play over 220 games each, passing for north of 63,000 yards and 400+ touchdowns in two incredible NFL careers. A long list of franchise passing records now feature on both players’ football resumes, with Rothlisberger finishing his (likely) Hall of Fame career with two Super Bowl victories – an achievement level with that of Manning, while Rivers was never able to win a Super Bowl ring during his career.
There will always be debate about the 2004 quarterbacks, and which franchise got the best signal-caller after that eventful draft day. Regardless, Manning will go down as one of the greatest Giants to ever play the game. Still with the franchise in 2022, albeit no longer as a player, the trade continues to bring reward to the franchise and its fans decades after that eventful day in 2004.
3. Y.A. Tittle in 1961
In August of 1961, the New York Giants traded guard Lou Cordileone to the San Francisco 49ers for future Hall of Fame and Giants Ring of Honor quarterback Y.A. Tittle. This is a move that will never be forgotten.
Trade
At the time of the trade, Tittle was already a 13-year veteran and was 34 years of age. To make the decision even more peculiar for the Giants, Tittle had been on the record as saying he did not want to play in New York, or on the east coast in general. Nevertheless, the 49ers thought Tittle was past his prime and no longer a fit for their offensive system, so the veteran was traded to New York.
Both Cordileone and Tittle took offense to the price which was paid for them in the trade. Cordileone was quoted as saying “Me, even up for Y.A. Tittle? You’re kidding” and would later joke that the Giants had traded him for a “42-year-old quarterback”. Tittle displayed a similar sentiment towards the trade, suggesting the 49ers did not get a “name player” in return for him.
Impact on the New York Giants
While the Manning trade is not clear cut on a winner, this trade certainly is. Tittle played four years with the Giants after the trade. During this time he won the 1963 league MVP, the 1961 and 1963 Jim Thorpe Trophy (league MVP as voted by the players) as well as the 1962 UPI Most Valuable Player. He was selected to three Pro Bowls and led the Giants to three NFL Championship Games in a row.
In 1962, Tittle set the NFL record for passing touchdowns in a season, at 33, before breaking his own record the following year by throwing 36 touchdown passes. Tittle’s NFL record stood for another 20 seasons – a testament to just how dominant he was as a Giant.
The 36 touchdowns in 1963 is still a New York Giants franchise record. He also holds the Giants record for most touchdowns in a game (seven against Washington in 1962) and is still one of only two Giants ever to win the league MVP.
In Tittle’s four years with the Giants, he threw for over 10,000 yards and 96 touchdowns and will forever be known as one of the greatest New York Giants to play the game. All made possible for the small price of Lou Cordileone.
2. Lawrence Tynes in 2007
There aren’t many kickers who would be considered in the same article as Manning and Tittle, but Lawrence Tynes certainly deserves that praise. He helped the Giants capture so much glory during his time with the organization.
Trade
In May 2007, the Giants sent the Kansas City Chiefs a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft for kicker Lawrence Tynes.
Giants Pro Bowl kicker at the time Jay Feeley signed a free-agent deal with the Miami Dolphins ahead of the 2007 season, leaving New York without a starting kicker. Tynes was brought in to compete in a camp battle with Josh Huston and Mark Hickok, eventually winning out and being named the starter for 2007.
Impact on the New York Giants
The Giants would make the playoffs, with Tynes finishing the regular season with an 85.2 FG percentage and a 95.2 extra point percentage.
In the NFC Championship Game, the Giants would find themselves in a close contest with the Green Bay Packers. Tynes would have two important field goal attempts in the 4th quarter. He missed both and likely had the Giants wishing they had gone a different way with their kicker decision earlier that season.
All was forgiven, however, when Tynes hit a 47-yard bomb in the freezing cold during overtime, sending the Giants to Super Bowl XLII – a game which they ended up winning against the undefeated New England Patriots.
Fast forward four years and the Giants were again in an overtime battle in the NFC Championship Game, this time against the 49ers in San Francisco. New York would call on Tynes, who hit a 31-yard field goal to once again send them to a Super Bowl against the New England Patriots – another game in which the G-Men came out on top.
To go along with the two clutch field goals, Tynes scored 586 points in his 81-game career in New York, a number that still ranks second in franchise history. The Giants received two NFC Championship-winning moments, as well as 586 points all for the price of pick No. 286 in the 2008 NFL Draft, a trade which is undoubtedly one of the most impactful in the history of the New York Football Giants.
1. Ottis Anderson in 1986
Trade
The Super Bowl-hopeful 1986 Giants needed reinforcements in the running back room, deciding that the correct course of action was to trade a second and seventh-round pick for St. Louis Cardinals running back Ottis Anderson.
The 1979 rookie of the year, Anderson had rushed for over 1,000 yards in five (likely six if not for the player strike in 1982) of his seven seasons in St Louis. At 28 years of age, and on the back of a lean 1985 which saw him only rush for 479 yards in nine games, the veteran looked to be past his prime and potentially a depth addition for the Giants. That wasn’t the case.
Impact on the New York Giants
While the Giants would later win the 1986 Super Bowl, a game in which Anderson scored a late touchdown, he certainly wasn’t an instant success in blue. He would spend the next two seasons in a backup role for the G-men, contributing a measly 214 yards on the ground in 1987 and 1988 combined.
It was in 1989, however, that the trade three seasons earlier would finally bring success. Anderson would rush for 1,023 yards, scoring 14 times for New York that year – being rewarded for his efforts with the 1989 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.
The following season, Anderson, rejuvenated after a lean few years in his career, would lead the Giants with 784 yards and 11 touchdowns. Most importantly, 102 of those yards would come on 21 carries in a Super Bowl victory over the Buffalo Bills. Anderson would score one touchdown on his 102 yards, resulting in Super Bowl MVP honors for the then 34-year-old running back.
Anderson would finish his New York Career with 2,274 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in 83 appearances. It would be his role in bringing two Super Bowl victories to the Big Apple, however, which will ensure he goes down as one of the greatest running backs, and trades, in New York Giants history.