Giants entertained trading for Vikings safety Anthony Harris

The New York Giants were entertaining a trade for a franchise-tagged player.

Entering the 2020 league year, New York Giants ownership gave general manager Dave Gettleman one more season to turn the team around, after accumulating a 9-23 overall record in his first two seasons on the job. The area that needed the most improvement on the roster was on the defensive side of the ball, and the Giants had their eyes on a specific franchise-tagged player this offseason. And no, it wasn’t Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

According to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, the Giants contacted the Minnesota Vikings about a potential trade for standout safety Anthony Harris. However, nothing ever materialized, as the Vikings “didn’t tag him just to give him away,” per Garafolo.

After missing out on Harris, the Giants turned out just fine

There was no specific date as to when trade talks occurred, but it happened after the Vikings placed the franchise tender on Harris, worth a total of $11.4 million for the 2020 season.

Despite missing out on Harris, everything turned out just fine for the Giants. On the second day of the NFL Draft, New York managed to snag Alabama’s Xavier McKinney in the second round, who was the consensus top safety in the entire class.

You can definitely see why the Giants were interested in Harris’ services. In 2019, the Giants’ defense allowed the fifth-most passing yards in the NFL (4,225) and surrendered the seventh-most passing touchdowns (30). That defensive backfield was a huge reason why New York lost very winnable games last year.

Meanwhile, Harris is coming off a career season with the Vikings, as he recorded 60 tackles, 11 passes defensed and an NFL-leading six interceptions. In fact, Harris allowed 15 receptions on 23 targets for a minuscule 151 yards, per Pro Football Reference.

While the Giants would’ve loved to add a player of Harris’ caliber to the secondary, he’d be due a huge contract extension. Landing McKinney is a very good consolation prize for New York.