One of the most significant changes for the New York Giants this offseason has been at the linebacker position. Big Blue signed veteran Tremaine Edmunds to a three-year, $36 million deal in free agency, who will serve as a replacement for Bobby Okereke.
Edmunds was released by the Bears earlier this offseason after leading Chicago with 112 tackles just last season. He comes to New York with a wealth of experience and leadership, as well as a strong connection to Joe Schoen from their time together with the Bills.
While Edmunds will fit in nicely for the Giants, the team's initial plan was to address the linebacker position via trade. New York reportedly pursued a veteran linebacker before signing Edmunds. Although many thought Fred Warner was the target, that was quickly shut down. Now, we know the identity of the player Big Blue attempted to trade for before free agency.
The Giants tried to trade for Chiefs' veteran linebacker Drue Tranquill
Jordan Raanan of ESPN and the Breaking Big Blue podcast stated that the linebacker the Giants tried to acquire before free agency was actually Drue Tranquill of the Chiefs, but he ended up taking a pay cut to stay in Kansas City and had no interest in leaving.
Tranquill restructured his contract with the Chiefs, reducing it from $6 million to $3.5 million to remain with the organization, where he contributed to a Super Bowl-winning defense nearly three years ago against the San Francisco 49ers.
Tranquill has had two sacks and at least 54 combined tackles in each of the last two seasons, and hasn’t been the same player as he was when he first came to the Chiefs from the Chargers, which raises the question as to why the G-Men would have so much interest in the 30-year-old.
Instead of sacrificing the draft capital to trade for Tranquill, the Giants pivot to not just Edmunds but also Micah McFadden, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in the Big Blue’s first game last season, but now returns for his fifth season with the franchise.
With Tranquill staying put in Kansas City and Okereke playing elsewhere next year, the Giants' linebacker core this season will consist of players like Edmunds, McFadden, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter, and Darius Muasau, but the G-Men may add one more linebacker to their roster if they select Ohio State’s Sonny Styles in next week’s draft.
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