It has to be difficult for New York Giants fans to fathom just how far this once-proud organization has fallen. It's been rinse and repeat, with new faces coming in and generating the same results as the ones prior. 'Frustrating' doesn't even begin to cover what's been going on.
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For all intents and purposes, the 2025 season is over. The G-Men sit at 2-11 for the second straight year and have already fired their head coach and defensive coordinator. Interim HC Mike Kafka is all but gone come January, and general manager Joe Schoen could be out, too. Talk about an all-encompassing organizational disaster.
This team is so behind schedule that fans might as well throw away the calendar.
However, the offseason is right around the corner, giving Big Blue a chance to upgrade the roster with fresh faces and hope things finally turn around. Unfortunately, the free agent class is already thinning, and with news that the Baltimore Ravens have extended star defensive lineman Travis Jones, a perfect opportunity to improve the roster just went up in smoke.
The #Ravens and standout DT Travis Jones have reached a 3-year extension worth $40.5M, source said. He gets $25M guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 11, 2025
Jones was a pending free agent, but now gets locked up, as @jeffzrebiec reported. pic.twitter.com/OWXyVAbEQz
Giants lose ideal offseason target as Ravens lock up Travis Jones
The first thing that comes to mind when seeing Jones' contract is that Big Blue could have afforded him easily. They have $17 million in cap space before restructures and cuts, meaning the Giants could have prioritized getting him an offer as soon as free agency opened up.
It's a bummer. The 26-year-old brings exactly what this team needs: run defense -- and lots of it. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-4, 340-pounder ranks sixth among 128 qualified defensive tackles, with a 76.2 run-defense grade.
That's a heck of a lot better than anyone in East Rutherford is doing. None of Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, D.J. Davidson, or Roy Robertson-Harris is bringing anything remotely close to that level of production. It's too early to tell if rookie Darius Alexander will be something, but he's only one year younger than Jones.
Dexter Lawrence needs a running mate. The man is getting double-teamed into irrelevance, and it's impacting the whole defense. It's no wonder that the Giants have the worst run defense in the league. If only Baltimore had screwed up and let him hit the open market. Would've been nice.
With Travis Jones officially off the board, it's time for the G-Men to look elsewhere. John Franklin-Myers could be an option if he isn't re-signed by the Denver Broncos. Or Clemson's Peter Woods could be in play on draft night.
With Jones staying in Baltimore, the Giants will have to look elsewhere for help up front. It’s not a massive shock, but it still stings. One less obvious fix for a roster that needs plenty of them.