New York Giants Made the Right Move at NFL Trade Deadline

The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and the New York Giants ultimately decided to stand pat in spite of a plethora of rumors surrounding the team.

The Giants were in the hunt for Jonathan Taylor and a defensive tackle, but they chose to hold firm. And it was the right move.

Prices were out of control at the deadline, and New York obviously saw it. The Indianapolis Colts were asking for a king's ransom in return for Taylor, a 27-year-old running back with an injury history. And both the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles set the defensive tackle market with monster trades.

The Giants were never going to be paying that type of price, nor should they have.

I understand New York is 5-2-1 and in first place in the NFC East, but this is not a team ready to contend for a Super Bowl just yet.

Trading substantial draft capital for a running back would have been a mistake. And while we all would have loved an interior defender to put alongside of DJ Reader, who was realistically available for the Giants?

Jeffrey Simmons cost the Chicago Bears an arm and a leg. So did Jordan Davis for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not dealing Vita Vea, and if they did, they would have raked the Giants over the coals for the aging, declining star.

The rest of the DTs — guys like A'Shawn Robinson, Dalvin Tomlinson and Grover Stewart — were expiring contract. Big Blue is already lacking in draft capital as it is, so moving a pick for a veteran who was just going to walk at season's end never made much sense.

At least not for a ballclub that, like it or not, is still rebuilding.

The Giants can't go too far off script just because they are leading a terribly weak division. They aren't beating the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. We all know that. This is a squad missing its starting quarterback and its best defensive player. It is living off of grit and incredible coaching from John Harbaugh.

It's been exciting, and it's so refreshing to finally see progress. But going all in at the deadline was never going to be the right move.

New York will have a nice chunk of cap space to make some moves in free agency, and the Giants are now a prime destination once again. They also could trade a couple of pieces to recoup some draft capital.

The G-Men are certainly on the up and up. But they aren't ready to go for broke yet. Next year, however, might be a different story.