New York’s focus on Dexter Lawrence’s trade request took some attention away from another former first-round pick who could be on the block: Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The 5th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft is entering the fifth and final year of his contract. With the Giants already paying Brian Burns big money and drafting Abdul Carter last year, the assumption is that Thibodeaux won’t be in New York for long. A trade would reduce the Giants’ pass rush but could result in compensation for a player not in the long-term plans.
Harbaugh was asked about Thibodeaux at the opening of the Giants’ voluntary practice on Tuesday.
“I think he’s a great player. I’m excited for him,” Harbaugh replied. “I was excited to see him today. He looks good, he’s in great shape. I’m thinking about him on the field, getting him connected with our defense and getting him rolling.”
The question came from Dan Duggan, a longtime Giants reporter who now works for The Athletic, who took a playful rib from Harbaugh.
“You want to talk about whether he’s a trade option? Everybody’s tradeable, everybody. Even you’re tradeable, Dan. If we can get anything for you, we’d trade you in a heartbeat,” Harbaugh said to laughter from the media in attendance.
The coach insisted on focusing on getting Thibodeaux ready to play and letting the front office take care of the other aspects.
“It’s not really what you focus on,” he said of the business talk. “You focus on us having a day, we’re talking about the ball, we’re bringing our team together as a team. The business part of it is the business part. That kind of swirls around us. We try to lock in the football.”
The reality for the Giants is that the longer they hang onto Thibodeaux, the less they will get back in trade returns. Keeping him around for the season would provide the Giants with a potent rotation at pass rush, but is it the best use of their assets long term? The decision could come down to how quickly Harbaugh believes his team will take to legitimately compete for league and conference titles.
Trading Thibodeaux would clear $14.751 million guaranteed from the Giants’ books, money they could use throughout the season — or help them bridge the financial gap to keep Lawrence.
It was somewhat surprising that the Giants turned down calls to Thibodeaux last year, when his comeback might have been at its peak. We’ll see if the organization changes course in the coming weeks. They could trade the pass rusher ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. They could hold out until after the selection process to see if a club short on the top edge of players feels the need to make a move this summer. The Giants could assess where they are approaching the fall trade deadline. Or they could let it run, hope for a productive season from their first baseman and let him hit free agency in 2027 — a compensatory pick could come into play, but that would also mean the Giants wouldn’t be very active on the market next spring.
For now, Thibodeaux is a giant. We will see how long it lasts.