The New York Giants don’t necessarily have the need for a star pass-rusher right now. Brian Burns is coming off a career-high 16.5-sack season, and Abdul Carter, once labeled the next Micah Parsons, is heading into Year 2 after finishing his rookie season on a tear.
Oh, and Kayvon Thibodeaux is also still on the team after surviving what's felt like 50 offseasons' worth of trade rumors. To say the G-Men are in the market for another one feels like a Mr. Fantastic-sized stretch.
Well, maybe not if it’s Myles Garrett. The 30-year-old five-time All-Pro just had his contract reworked in a way that gives Cleveland more flexibility to move him if they choose to, which at least opens the door to trade conversations. And while the Browns have been adamant that the future Hall of Famer isn’t going anywhere, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer still listed the G-Men as potential suitors if they change their tune:
"If John Harbaugh took the job in part because he believes this is a quick turnaround, maybe the idea of sacrificing draft capital doesn’t scare him. The Giants could also send a highly drafted pass rusher back to Cleveland in return, limiting the ultimate strain on the acquiring team. Garrett would be a franchise transformer and allow the Giants’ remaining pass rushers to exist in an environment that wouldn’t force them to be the table-setter, taking on consistent double teams."
Myles Garrett on the Giants would be so dumb in the most awesome way
Let’s not overthink it. This would be ridiculous in the best way. He's one of the few players whose individual efforts can single-handedly flip a season on its head. He’d be one of the most talented players this team’s had in a long time -- did someone say Lawrence Taylor?
What's propelling the speculation is what Cleveland did with their 125.5-sack superstar (who just beat Michael Strahan's single-season sack record totally fair and square).
The Browns moved Garrett’s option bonuses for 2026, 2027, and 2028 from mid-March to right before the start of the regular season. Basically, buying them a few extra months if they choose to do anything.
On top of that, they also converted $8 million of his base salary in 2029 and 2030 into roster bonuses.
The important part is what it does for a potential trade. With those bonuses no longer hitting in March, a post-June 1 trade becomes a lot easier to manage. Instead of taking on roughly $40 million in dead cap, Cleveland could get that number down to around $15.5 million. That’s a massive difference, and it’s the kind of adjustment that at least makes a trade possible from a cap standpoint.
Then there’s Thibodeaux sitting in the middle of all of this. His name’s been tied to trade rumors for what feels like forever, and something like this would finally give that a real landing spot instead of just the classic pastime of trade speculation.
Thibs is no Garrett, but he's still a pretty solid consolation prize. Maybe a change of scenery helps him unlock his career-best 11.5-sack 2023 season.
None of that guarantees anything is coming, and they've said as much. But the structure is different now. And when the wiggle room changes for a player this good, it’s always going to get people thinking about what it could lead to. Looks like we'll have to wait and see what happens June 2 and on, but bringing in a talent like Garrett should be a no-brainer for Joe Schoen and Co. He'd instantly vault them into contender status.