If that were to happen, would it be another move the Giants might come to regret?
The idea that the New York Giants will, could, or should trade edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux during the 2025 season just won’t die.
The latest to raise the idea of the Giants moving on from Thibodeaux is Aaron Schatz of ESPN. In proposing one final offseason move for each team, Schatz says the Giants should move on from the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Giants now have three starting edge rushers for two spots after drafting Abdul Carter to go along with Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. Thibodeaux has two years left on his rookie contract, and he’ll need an extension after the 2025 season. The team won’t want to pay him at the going price for starting edge rushers if he’s not going to be starting.
Yes, New York can use an edge rusher rotation and get plenty of value out of him. It can create a NASCAR-style package where one of its edge rushers moves inside on third down. But the Giants can also trade Thibodeaux to a contender that needs help on the edge, such as the Packers or the Lions, and probably get a Day 2 pick in return. More draft capital would be a huge help for 2026 when they’ll be trying to find as many strong offensive players as possible to build around quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Malik Nabers.
Valentine’s View
I have said again and again this offseason that the Giants should not be in a rush to get rid of the 24-year-old Thibodeaux. Yet, the idea keeps coming up.
Reality is, eventually it is something the Giants may have to consider. In my view, they shouldn’t consider it until at least the 2025 NFL trade deadline. The Giants are going to be as creative as they can to get Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter on the field together for as many snaps as possible.
That means Carter will play some edge, he will play some off-ball linebacker, he will probably line up as s Wide 9 defensive end and as an interior defensive tackle in pass-rush situations.
If Carter is what the Giants think he is, though, they are eventually going to want him to be a full-time edge defender. They won’t want him playing positions that might not be his best just to get him on the field. Which means something will have to give. Burns, three years older than Thibodeaux and in the second year of five-year, $141 million contract, would seem unlikely to be a trade candidate.
That would leave Thibodeaux. And, yes, there are teams around the league he could help and that would love to have him.
So, yes, the talk about the Giants moving Thibodeaux is understandable. And, yes, Schatz is right that the Giants — who have only six picks in the 2026 draft after sending their third-round selection to the Houston Texans in the Jaxson Dart deal, could use more draft capital. Yet, it is hard not to think that if they were to move on from the first draft pick of the Joe Schoen era, it could be another move that leaves them with egg splattered all over their faces.
Odell Beckham Jr. had a 1,000-yard season for the Cleveland Browns the year after the Giants traded him, then got a Super Bowl ring with the Los Angeles Rams. Saquon Barkley did what he did last year. Julian Love made his only Pro Bowl after leaving the Giants. Xavier McKinney had a career year for the Green Bay Packers in 2024. Leonard Williams just had the first All-Pro season of his career for the Seattle Seahawks, where the Giants traded him because they worried he was past his prime and no longer worth big money.
Each of those moves was justifiable when made. Yet, what happened happened. And is hard for many Giants fans to accept.
Could it happen again with Thibodeaux? Absolutely.
Michael Strahan did not post a double-digit sack season until his fifth year in the NFL. Trey Hendrickson, who had 17.5 sacks in each of the last two years, did not have a double-digit sack season until his fourth year. Shaq Barrett had 14.0 sacks in his first four seasons, then posted 19.5 in Year 5. Gregory Rousseau of the Buffalo had 10.0 sacks last season, his first double-digit total. That was Year 4 for Rousseau. Even Dexter Lawrence of the Giants, while not an edge defender, did not become the great player he is until having been in the league three or four years.
In talking about what makes Carter unique, Giants defensive line coach Andre Patterson explained the normal arc of a pass rusher’s learning curve.
“… a guy comes in as a rookie, it takes him two or three years to all of a sudden become a guy,” Patterson said. “A lot of guys blow their rush at that time because, hey, I may have your hands, okay, but being able to feel where your body is, okay, your head’s outside, I’m finishing inside, right? Your head’s inside, I got the edge, I can go, you know what I mean? He’s sitting soft, go to power. He’s sitting firm, bend around the corner.
“That’s a lot of stuff, right? Well, it takes drill after drill after drill after drill to get a guy to feel that … And a lot of guys, most guys, don’t have that.”
I couldn’t help but think about Thibodeaux while listening to Patterson. Thibodeaux has all of the physical tools, even though he may not be a natural speed rusher or edge bender. Analysts I have relied on, like Dan Hatman of the Scouting Academy and BBV’s Nick Falato, have watched Thibodeaux and thought that he needed to be better at putting moves together, at having a Plan B. As Patterson indicated above, it’s about how to read the blocker and what to do next.
BBV’s Chris Pflum recently studied Thibodeaux and concluded that he is better than given credit for, and that the Giants should consider giving him a long-term deal sooner rather than later.
I can’t help but wonder if Thibodeaux, who has 17 sacks in his last 29 games, is on the verge mastering the types of things Patterson talked about above.
Thibodeaux may never reach his goal of breaking Strahan’s single-season sack record. It is not hard to imagine, though, that his best football is yet to come. Especially since he isn’t even 25 yet.
It would be hard to watch that take place if Thibodeaux accomplished it in another uniform.
