New York Giants' Latest Kayvon Thibodeaux Rumor is Quite a Twist

The New York Giants opted to keep Kayvon Thibodeaux this offseason, as there simply weren't any strong enough trade offers to entertain moving him.

That doesn't necessarily mean he is a part of their long-term future.

Thibodeaux is entering the final year of his contract with the Giants, and with Brian Burns already under wraps as well as Abdul Carter in the financial pipeline, New York almost certainly won't be paying Thibodeaux.

But is there a chance the Giants could make it work?

Dan Duggan of The Athletic suggested the Pittsburgh Steelers model, noting how the Steelers paid all of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.

However, that doesn't really seem all that replicable for a couple of reasons.

First of all, word on the street is that Pittsburgh is looking to move Highsmith. The Steelers' decision to extend Herbig is viewed by many as the beginning of the end for Highsmith, who is under contract through 2027 but carries very manageable cap hits of $20.1 million and $21.1 million over the last two year of his deal.

That makes Highsmith rather tradeable, and it would be very surprising if Pittsburgh ended up retaining the 28-year-old through the remainder of his pact.

Second, New York doesn't just have Burns and Carter. It also drafted Arvell Reese, and while Reese is playing inside linebacker for Big Blue, make no mistake: his presence on the field will take snaps away from Thibodeaux.

Reese also profiled as an edge coming out of Ohio State. He tallied 6.5 sacks during his final season with the Buckeyes, and it would be fairly surprising if the Giants didn't at least experiment with him in pass-rushing situations this coming season.

I have a very hard time believing New York will invest significant long-term money into Thibodeaux given all of the other pieces it has in its front seven.

To be clear, Duggan does think that Thibodeaux will be gone after 2026, but he did leave the door open for a potential return.

I just don't see it happening.

The Giants still have far too many other needs to pour that much money into one position. They need more wide receivers. They need cornerback help. They should probably add another defensive tackle. They could also use more assistance along the interior of their offensive line.

Edge rusher is not an area in which New York is needy, so re-signing Thibodeaux next spring just wouldn't make much sense for the G-Men.

I've been on record plenty of times saying that I really like Thibodeaux as a player. In fact, I was initially against drafting Carter in 2025 because of Thibodeaux.

But the writing is very clearly on the wall for the University of Oregon product, and I wouldn't be shocked if he were dealt before the trade deadline in November.

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