Would the New York Giants be buyers or sellers at the NFL trade deadline? There was intense speculation leading up to Tuesday but when the bell rang, the Giants fell silent.
General manager Dave Gettleman — also known as “Trader Dave” — failed to pull the trigger on any deals, which meant keeping tight end Evan Engram in tow on an expiring contract.
It also means that running back Saquon Barkley, guard Will Hernandez and several other potential trade pieces will remain with the Giants through the 2021 season (and potentially beyond).
Head coach Joe Judge felt these were the right decisions for the future of the franchise.
“I think the decisions we made were what we thought was best for the team long-term with where we’re at. Each trade deadline day, you get a lot of calls going around, but we talk about it all the time, today is the last day,” Judge told reporters on Tuesday.
“You’ve had the opportunities leading up all the way through here to make any kind of roster moves or trades that you possibly could do. You get a lot of calls bouncing around from other teams inquiring about either something they maybe want or something you’d be willing to move, things of that nature. For us, we thought the decisions we made were the best for the team going forward, so we were good with just moving on with (the players that are here).”
That essentially means the Giants will get nothing in return for Engram should he not be re-signed during the offseason. Of course, losing him could factor into the compensatory pick formula, but there are a lot of other variables that factor into that as well.
On the opposite side of that coin, Engram is a Joe Judge favorite and that might mean he gets re-signed.
“Like I said, every decision we make is what’s best for the team long-term going forward,” Judge said. “There’s a number of players we have that are free agents this year. There’s nothing that’s ruling us out from being able to bring players back and continue to be a part of our team.
“We want to build with guys that are here, want to continue growing with the guys that are here that are established in our program as being team guys, guys that we believe have the skillset and the makeup that can help us be successful in this program as we continue to build. The decisions we make are always what’s best for the team.”
The status quo remains in East Rutherford.
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