The New York Giants may be holding out hope that edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux can emerge as a star pass-rusher alongside Brian Burns, but his name has come up recently in potential trade ideas.
The Giants have to make a decision on Thibodeaux’s rookie contract as his fifth-year option must be exercised or declined by the end of May 1. It seems likely they will pick up the $16 million fully-guaranteed option, but there’s a world in which they look to get some draft capital back after using the No. 3 pick on Penn State star Abdul Carter.
Ian Valentino of The 33rd Team believes there will be handful of potential trade destinations for Thibodeaux if he hits the market, including the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals.
“Concerns about adding Abdul Carter to the pass-rush duo of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux are overblown to me, but it’d make sense for New York to dangle Thibodeaux in a trade back into the first round. Leaving Round 1 with Carter and a quarterback would be ideal, and it would avoid giving up major draft capital,” Valentino wrote.
In 2024, Thibodeaux put together a strong campaign despite finishing with only 5.5 sacks. His 42 total pressures were just six fewer than his career-high mark, and he was on pace for 59 total pressures had he played a full season, per Next Gen Stats.
Thibodeaux has yet to reach his full potential so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to trade him away for anything. Teams are always looking for pass-rush help and even adding Carter in the draft wouldn’t automatically mean the Giants need to trade Thibodeaux away. New York could find a way to make all three work together efficiently.
With that said, the NFL is always full of surprises so even if it’s unlikely, it’s a scenario to keep in the back of our minds.
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