One of the first moves that Dave Gettleman did when he became the New York Giants’ general manager at the end of the 2017 season was pinpoint veterans with bloated contracts for potential trades.

One of those players was the embattled defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who was given a a four-year, $62 million extension ($40 million guaranteed) the previous March by Jerry Reese despite his history of injuries.

Gettleman found a suitor for JPP in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and dealt him in exchange for a 2018 third-round pick (B.J. Hill) and a 2018 fourth-round pick (Kyle Lauletta).

It appears the trade may have backfired on the pass-rush starved Giants. Even with only one functional hand, JPP managed seven sacks in 2016 (second on the Giants behind Olivier Vernon’s 8) and another 8.5 in 2017, which led the team.

The Giants got an immediate bump from Hill as a rookie in 2018, with a 5.5 sack rookie campaign, but he slid into a sophomore slump last year and didn’t record a sack, a QB hit or a tackle for a loss in the Giants’ first 14 games. In fact, Hill basically became an afterthought after the Giants traded for Leonard Williams. His snap counts waned as the season went on.

Lauletta never made an impact at all. He never distinguished himself as a viable backup for Eli Manning as a rookie and then was released during final cuts last summer. He is currently on the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster.

Meanwhile, Pierre-Paul has thrived in Tampa Bay. He has become the savvy veteran in the locker room who is sought for his counsel and leads by example as outlined by Luke Easterling in SI.com:

In his first season in Tampa Bay, Pierre-Paul racked up 12.5 sacks, tying the second-highest single-season total of his career (2014), and becoming the first Bucs player to post double-digit sacks in more than a decade (Simeon Rice).

The following offseason, however, Pierre-Paul once again found himself facing a career-threatening injury. A car accident had left him with a fractured neck, and many wondered whether or not he would ever see the field again. He missed the first six games of the 2019 season, and his contract was restructured to make him a free agent at the end of the season, with production incentives in reward him if he was able to return and make an impact. Make an impact he did, tallying 8.5 sacks over his 10 games.

When the trade was made, most Giant fans were in favor of it. JPP’s contract was a bit of an albatross around their necks, but a large portion of the guaranteed money had already been paid out.

A trade is only as good as what you get in return. In this case, the Giants lost. In 2018, they amassed just 30 sacks, which was tied for next to last in the NFL. Last season, without both JPP and Vernon, the Giants upped their total to 36, good for 22nd overall, but were buoyed by Markus Golden’s 10. Golden is currently a free agent and is unlikely to return to the Giants this season.

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