The 2024 NFL regular season is still months away and there’s nothing much to do or talk about until training camps open at the end of July.
Until then, there’s going to be a lot of speculation and predictions on the net and airwaves that are going to attempt to fill the void.
One such article from Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report has the New York Giants “tanking” for a top draft pick and also trading star linebacker Bobby Okereke (or wide receiver Darius Slayton).
In other words, the Giants admit — just a year-and-a-half after giving him a huge new contract — that quarterback Daniel Jones isn’t the answer. And if that’s the case, the team likely knows it has to gain more draft capital to land that next franchise QB.
The “problem” is there is plenty of talent outside of that potential for Big Blue, with Malik Nabers and Brian Burns sprucing things up this offseason on either side of the ball and most of a core including Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas still in place.
The Giants might accidentally compete, even if Jones continues to be ineffective. That could force the organization to tank down the stretch, the first chapter of which would come with a trade involving a veteran like Darius Slayton or Bobby Okereke as well as future draft capital in return for a potential top-five pick.
As we’ve discussed before, “tanking” is difficult to do in the NFL as the game cannot be played at less than full speed. There are also jobs on the line from the roster to the front office that the incumbents would like to keep. Nobody intentionally loses in the NFL, especially not a John Mara-run team.
As for the trade piece, Slayton could surely be traded — especially if one or more of the young wideouts break out — but he’s in the final year of his contract and won’t garner much in return.
Okereke is in the second year of a four-year deal, and if he plays as well as he did last season, he’s worth the $10 million per. Not sure the Giants would deal a top linebacker in his prime.
So, yeah. No.
