The Los Angeles Rams are allowing Matthew Stafford to talk to other teams regarding a trade. While this does not mean that Stafford is for sure going to get dealt, it does open the door to a deal being made. One NFL team that has been linked heavily to Stafford, perhaps more than any other, has been the New York Giants, and it isn't hard to see why.
The Giants are in dire need of a quarterback after releasing Daniel Jones midway through the 2024 campaign, and with the team sitting at No. 3 overall in the upcoming NFL Draft, they don't control whether they can select one of the two best options under center. If they don't draft a QB, a Stafford trade might be the next-best option; he'd certainly give the Giants their best chance to win right now.
If the Giants are able to pull off a Stafford trade, several players who were part of their team in 2024 almost certainly won't be a part of it in 2025.
5) It might finally be time for the Giants to let Darius Slayton go
Darius Slayton has spent all six of his NFL seasons with the Giants after the team selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, and he's been a consistently solid weapon for New York. That alone is impressive, especially when most of his tenure was spent with Jones under center.
Unfortunately, Slayton's numbers took a bit of a hit this past season, as he recorded 39 receptions for 573 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games played. He was pretty clearly New York's third option at the receiver position behind Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson. While he's fine in that role, the Giants could use a better No. 2 option to pair alongside Nabers. Assuming the Giants get that, Robinson would be the No. 3 option, and Slayton would barely be a factor.
At this point, it feels like this is a good opportunity for both sides to get a fresh start.
4) Tim Boyle's Giants tenure will be predictably short-lived
All of the turmoil in New York's quarterback room led to the Giants eventually adding Tim Boyle late in the season. He appeared in one game for New York and completed just 12 of his 24 passing attempts for 123 yards.
Unfortunately, that kind of showing has been par for the course for Boyle at the NFL level, as he has completed just 60.5 of his passes over the course of his career and has nearly triple the amount of interceptions (13) as passing touchdowns (5). The Giants could choose to bring Boyle back in a third quarterback role, but even then, they can almost certainly do better.
3) Azeez Ojulari will receive more money than the Giants should be willing to pay him
Ojulari might not have ever lived up to the promise he showed in his rookie year, but he did just put together his second-best NFL season in 2024. The 24-year-old recorded 6.0 sacks in just 11 games played along with seven tackles for loss and 10 QB hits. To put it simply, he was extremely productive when he was on the field.
Ojulari's strong season will earn him quite a bit of interest on the open market. The Giants should undoubtedly be one of those interested teams, but considering his age and the amount of promise he showed, he will likely get more money than the Giants can afford to spend — especially if they pay Stafford a substantial contract.
The Giants have Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence entrenched on their defensive line. There aren't many strengths on this Giants roster, but up front is certainly one of them, even without Ojulari. Assuming he gets a hefty payday, the Giants will likely let him go.
2) The Giants have little reason to keep Devin Singletary around
Singletary will forever be known as the guy that the Giants chose to replace Saquon Barkley. What makes that distinction worse is that Singletary was only in control of New York's backfield for the first four weeks of the season before Tyrone Tracy took over.
Tracy was one of the few Giants bright spots from this past season, as he rushed for 839 yards on 192 attempts with five touchdowns. He averaged 4.4 yards per attempt, which is especially impressive considering the lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball.
Tracy established himself as the Giants running back of the present and future. New York could elect to keep Singletary around at a fairly reasonable $6 million cap hit, but they can probably receive a draft pick by trading him. He isn't a necessity to keep around as a backup, and trading him allows the Giants to save some money and potentially add more much-needed draft capital.
1) Drew Lock won't be back regardless of what happens with Matthew Stafford
This isn't as bad as Singletary, but Lock will forever be remembered by Giants fans as the guy who ruined New York's chances at earning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Lock had one of the best games a Giants quarterback has had in recent memory in Week 17 against the Indianapolis Colts, leading New York to a victory and all but eliminating any chance the team had at earning the upcoming draft's top pick.
While Lock was obviously impressive that week, his numbers otherwise were quite underwhelming. The 28-year-old appeared in eight games and started five, with the Giants going just 1-4 in those starts. He completed 59.1 percent of his passing attempts for 1,071 yards and six touchdowns compared to five interceptions overall.
There's no reason for the Giants to bring Lock back, regardless of the role. They can get a younger option in the draft, or a better option in free agency. Whether Stafford comes or not, the Lock era should come to an end.