The New York Giants underwent a big house cleaning this offseason. David Gettleman and Joe Judge are out as general manager and head coach, replaced by the Buffalo Bills duo of Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll.
Schoen and Daboll are coming into a bit of a messy situation. Gettleman is leaving the franchise in a worse position than when he joined it, as New York has been the worst team in the NFL during his tenure.
Judge got caught in the crossfire a bit but did himself no favors overseeing a team that ended the season on a six-game losing streak with each loss coming by double-digits. 10 of their 13 losses on the season were by double-digits, as the Giants just weren’t competitive a majority of the season.
Part of that blame can be placed on the roster construction of Gettleman, but Judge lost the locker room as well. Now, Schoen and Daboll will be tasked with getting one of the most storied franchises in the league back on track.
Schoen has said one of his goals is to slash payroll and get the salary cap situated. He would like to save $40 million on the salary cap this offseason, which could lead to some difficult decisions when it comes to cutting players. James Bradberry, Sterling Shepard, Blake Martinez and Kyle Rudolph are some of the veterans who could be moved to save money.
One of the biggest decisions the Giants will have to make soon is what to do at quarterback. Daniel Jones will be given an opportunity with the new regime, but what if there was a chance to upgrade at the position? Could they make a run at Aaron Rodgers should he become available?
Over at Sportsnaut, the Giants were listed as one of the potential landing spots for Rodgers. The new regime is something that might appeal to him. To land him, a hypothetical package of the No. 5 and 7 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, a 2023 second-round pick, 2024 second-round pick, Darius Slayton and Jones heading to Green Bay for Rodgers.
Had the Giants fallen just short of the postseason, this trade would make some sense. But, given the current makeup of the roster and how little cap space they have to work with, this trade isn’t a feasible one.
Schoen would be throwing away the best opportunity he has to remake this roster from the ground up with two top-seven picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has a chance to remake the roster from the trenches with those picks, as the Giants are in prime position to land an impact offensive lineman or pass rusher.
If the new regime wants Rodgers, they are better off taking a chance and waiting until free agency in 2023. At that point, all it would be costing them is money. They wouldn’t have to surrender any draft capital, allowing Schoen and his staff to build the roster up for one season and then consider making a splash at the quarterback position to bring it all together.
