It took the Giants one game to instantly regret trade deadline blunder

As the Nov. 4 trade deadline approached, some believed the 2-7 New York Giants might actually be buyers. It would’ve gone against the grain, sure — but the thinking was simple: anything to get rookie quarterback sensation Jaxson Dart some help.

With star receiver Malik Nabers and rookie running back Cam Skattebo both out for the year, the 22-year-old was quickly left without legitimate weapons — and the offense turned vanilla fast. There were rumblings the G-Men were in the market for a receiver. Names like Jakobi Meyers, Rashid Shaheed, Jaylen Waddle, and Brian Thomas Jr. were floated around, but by the time the 4:00 p.m. deadline hit, the roster remained the same.

One week — and one concussion — later, the decision to stay dormant at the deadline has already blown up in their face. In Big Blue’s 24-20 Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears, Dart was forced to play Superman in a desperate attempt to secure the first road win of his young career — and it ended with the 25th overall pick knocked out of the game with a concussion.

It didn’t take long for the Giants to regret not getting Jaxson Dart trade deadline help

Roll your eyes at the notion that a receiver would have prevented the 22-year-old’s injury all you want, but early on Sunday, it was clear the Giants were getting nothing from their running backs. The only successful portion of the ground game came from the quarterback.

Related: 3 takeaways from Jaxson Dart’s gut punch in Giants' Week 10 disaster

When he left the game, he had rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns — ultimately getting bounced on a hard hit and fumble during a designed run. Maybe if the coaching staff had more faith in the passing game — and a better receiving corps to lean on — it never would have come to that.

But if the plan was to protect future assets instead of helping Dart now, that’s its own misstep.

Because for those celebrating the G-Men holding on to their draft capital, there’s a real argument to be made that parting ways with Day 3 assets for an established star makes a lot more sense than rolling the dice on a project or two.

Take the Las Vegas Raiders trading Meyers to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fourth- and sixth-round pick. Looking at the past four Giants drafts, that’d equate to some combination of:

Aside from Skattebo, packaging one of their fourth-rounders with a sixth would’ve been a small price to pay to get Dart a legitimate receiver of Meyers’ caliber.

For all intents and purposes, this team’s season is over. Now sitting at 2-8, it’s officially on to 2026 — and how the front office can improve the roster around its franchise quarterback. They could have gotten a head start on the process by making a move for a dependable playmaker, but they didn’t, all but waving the white flag on another miserable season.

Punting on an opportunity to help their rookie quarterback was a terrible move, and one they should instantly regret.