The Giants are sure making their rare stay in buyer trade territory count. In addition to being the most aggressive Jonathan Taylor suitor — though, Big Blue’s offer of second- and fifth-round picks has been pulled — John Harbaugh’s team is scouring the league for defensive tackle aid.
New York asked about DeForest Buckner, was negotiating with Washington on an intra-division Daron Payne trade (before the latter’s season-ending Jones fracture) and was miffed when the team was effectively shut out of Tennessee-Chicago Jeffery Simmons talks. Seemingly unlikely to land Taylor, the Giants’ path at this year’s deadline probably includes a D-tackle, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes.
A few more pieces can be added to the list of players to come up in Big Blue’s exhaustive search. Christian Barmore and the Colts’ Adetomiwa Adebawore–Grover Stewart tandem have come up as players the Giants have inquired about, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports.
“You’re never ONE thing away. This is not addition and subtraction. The math is running on multiple levels of formulas and algorithms and humanity,” Harbaugh said in a text to Breer. “You have to assess your options and opportunities. Seek value. What makes your team better shorter- and long-term and avoid what hinders your team, even in possibility.
“It’s a case-by-case decision regarding options. The work is on finding and creating the options. That’s where the stones have to get turned over. We are building day-by-day for what’s coming tomorrow and in the future BOTH.”
Stewart would be an interesting fit alongside D.J. Reader, as the former has been the Colts’ primary nose tackle for the past 10 years. That is Reader’s primary position in New York, which bought in bulk after trading All-Pro nose Dexter Lawrence. The Colts have been connected to a willingness to move Stewart, who is in a contract year and playing an age-33 season. Now that the team has extended Adebawore, Stewart may well be elsewhere by tomorrow’s deadline.
Barmore’s contract checks in on a higher tier; the Patriots gave the interior pass rusher a four-year, $84MM extension in 2024. Mike Vrabel has done away with most of the Pats’ extensions from Eliot Wolf’s first year as GM, with only Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson still rostered. And Barmore has been benched, seeing Cory Durden usurp him alongside Milton Williams.
Barmore has 4.5 sacks and eight QB hits this season. The Pats being a contender and dealing away a quality (but slightly overpaid) D-lineman would be an interesting strategy, but the Bill Belichick-era draftee’s name has come up multiple times ahead of this year’s deadline.
The Giants have used Shelby Harris and second-year player Darius Alexander as their regulars alongside Reader. Alexander has 1.5 sacks, while Harris’ age-35 season has yet to produce one. Pro Football Focus ranks Alexander 76th out of 125 qualified interior D-line regulars, while the advanced metrics site slots Harris in the bottom 10. Will New York settle on an upgrade by 4pm ET tomorrow?