The New York Giants are heading into their bye week this weekend. With it coming so late in the season, there isn’t much the team can -- or probably will -- do at this point. A Week 14 bye is objectively crazy.
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Giants fans should expect a quiet weekend from their directionless team. Sitting at 2-11, they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs for weeks, and nothing about this group suggests the rest of the season is going to be any less unbearable. At least it'll be over soon. You know things are bad when fans are already rooting for draft position before December even hits.
But that's unfortunately the way things are.
While they can’t make any trades or pull off anything franchise-altering right now, there are still things they can do. This team is far from perfect, and if they want any sort of head start heading into 2026, here are a couple of moves that would at least point them in the right direction.
Giants should make these 3 moves during their Week 14 bye
Finally cut ties with failed draft picks taking up roster spots
There are too many players on Big Blue’s 53-man roster who have absolutely no business being on an NFL field right now. Whether it be delusion or a fragile ego, poor roster construction and personnel decisions continue to hold this team back.
Evan Neal, Deonte Banks, and Jalin Hyatt. What is happening? Why are they still here? Seriously. Neal hasn't taken a single snap all season. Banks has the second-worst cornerback grade among 110 eligible players -- according to Pro Football Focus. Hyatt has yet to score a touchdown through three professional seasons. For reference, backup quarterback Jameis Winston has more career TD receptions than the 24-year-old with one.
All three of these guys were early picks by Joe Schoen. He even traded up for both Banks and Hyatt. Keeping them on the roster and burning valuable spots has set this team back. And for what? So the 46-year-old GM doesn’t feel bad? Give me a break. Own the mistakes. Move on. Get players on the roster who can actually help you win. It’s ridiculous.
Find practice squad gems to fill new roster holes
Speaking of getting players on the roster...
It's time to get into the Holiday SZN and go shopping. Take a look around the league, and see if there are any practice squad standouts on other teams who might be an intriguing addition to the Giants. Anyone they scoop up would essentially have a four-game audition to see if they're worth a flier in 2026 or not. And at 2-11, what do they have to lose?
At this point, it should be throw anything -- and literally everything -- at the wall to see what sticks. It's like Schoen's job to do whatever he can to improve the team. Whatever he’s doing now clearly isn’t getting this team anywhere. Maybe it's time to look elsewhere... try something else.
Start a succession plan for Joe Schoen
A big part of what’s made the Giants such a dumpster fire lately is being reactive instead of proactive. They sit on decisions they know they'll inevitably make anyway, but do nothing about them until it's too late.
It's exactly the reason why they can't let Schoen stay after the season, regardless of whether he established a young core group of players or not.
Related: Joe Schoen's bye week press conference moments guaranteed to annoy Giants fans
Big Blue has already parted ways with its head coach and its defensive coordinator. And interim head coach Mike Kafka has all but proven he's in over his head and will likely be passed on for the opening come January. It's the perfect opportunity to bring in a new GM and HC together, to align on values, strategy, and critical thinking -- something this team lacks significantly.
There's no sense in waiting to let Schoen go. Assistant Brandon Brown is more than capable of running the show for the next month before NY cleans house. It was time to fire Joe Schoen yesterday, but here we are.