Over the past 20 years or so, the NY Giants have turned plenty of heads with great play, appearing in three Super Bowls and winning two. Even when they aren't winning it all, the Giants have usually been a pretty solid team aside from the last four years or so (prior to 2022 that is).
However, this does not mean that New York hasn't made some pretty big mistakes in terms of talent management, especially in recent seasons. Each of these five players were once with the G-Men, but things didn't last as long as they would have hoped for.
While they may not have shown much during their time with the Giants, the team would have had a very different trajectory if the front office was just a little more patient:
5. WR/KR Kalif Raymond
Not many may know that Kalif Raymond once played for the Giants, as he only spent six games with the team in 2017 before being released. However, since being released, Raymond has found a home with the Detroit Lions and has broken out into a pretty great player.
Raymond is primarily a kick returner who has also provided value for Detroit as a receiver. This is something this current GIants squad could really use, especially with his returning prowess. New York has really failed to land a consistent kick/punt returner over the years, so keeping a player like Raymond around would have been a huge boost for the Giants special teams unit.
Last season with the Lions, Raymond caught 47 passes for 616 yards and zero touchdowns while also returning 20 punts for 264 yards and one touchdown, being named to an All-Pro team in the process. Losing Raymond isn't the biggest loss in the world, however, there are no doubts that he would play a very crucial role on this current Giants team if they had opted to keep him around past the 2017 season.