The Los Angeles Rams just stunned the NFL world by acquiring Kansas City Chiefs' star cornerback Trent McDuffie, but he nearly ended up on the opposite coast. By the looks of it, the New York Giants were involved in the McDuffie sweepstakes, but they lost out, which they have Rams GM Les Snead to thank for.
According to a report from the Kansas City Star's Sam McDowell, trade talks for the two-time Super Bowl champion came down to the Rams and Giants, which is telling in itself, but the Rams were able to get the deal done by parting with a few extra draft picks beyond trading just their 29th overall pick.
Does this mean that Joe Schoen and John Harbaugh were genuinely considering trading the fifth overall pick for him? Or would this have been a 2027 first-rounder? Either way, the Giants just dodged a major bullet, especially since the 25-year-old will command over $30 million a year on a new contract.
Believe it or not, Trent McDuffie trade negotiations came down to the Rams and Giants
The two-time All-Pro is one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL and would have instantly transformed this Giants' secondary under new leadership, but that price tag is a lot. I know Harbaugh said that Big Blue's goal is to immediately compete, but this roster is still at the tail end of a rebuild.
It's for the best that McDuffie isn't a Giant, even if new DC Dennard Wilson would've loved him. Unless they're able to trade down, New York is better suited to stick and pick at No. 5, because the opportunity to land a blue-chip prospect on a rookie deal trumps the financial investment in a vet like McDuffie.
It's weird that the Giants were so heavily involved, especially given the circumstances. It's not like they're the Rams, where they have multiple first-round picks in 2026 and were able to swing a trade like this by sending the lesser of those two selections to Kansas City and keeping the pick from Atlanta.
The Rams are also much more built to contend right now. Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford isn't getting any younger, so who knows how much longer their Super Bowl window will be open. And after falling to Seattle in the NFC Championship Game, they just filled their roster's biggest need with ease. Oh, and they're used to going all-in like this.
The Washington product would have been in blue and white, but not in a secondary surrounded by Paulson Adebo and Tyler Nubin. The back-end still needs a bunch of work, so while acquiring McDuffie would've been a bold step in the right direction, the price tag didn't make enough sense.
Weirdly enough, this is the second time all offseason the Giants were runners-up, but this one is much more palatable.