Tuesday’s trade deadline passed without the Giants acquiring a running back, but it wasn’t for lack of effort on their part. It was already known the Giants had interest in the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor and the Titans’ Tony Pollard, and Jordan Raanan of ESPN says they also called the Falcons to inquire about superstar Bijan Robinson.
Taylor, Pollard and Robinson all stayed put on Tuesday. It’s especially unsurprising in Robinson’s case, as the 24-year-old All-Pro is among the NFL’s elite players at any position. The Falcons rewarded Robinson with a three-year, $66.75MM extension in August, briefly making him the league’s highest-paid back. The Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs went by him a couple days later on a three-year, $67.5MM pact.
While it’s unknown what the Giants would have been willing to offer for Robinson, it presumably would have cost more than the 49ers gave up for Christian McCaffrey four years ago. In advance of the 2022 deadline, they shipped second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024 to the Panthers for McCaffrey.
New York made a strong offer this year for Taylor, for whom the team was willing to give up a 2027 second-rounder and a 2028 fifth-rounder, but Indianapolis turned it down. The Giants never changed that offer, per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, though his colleague Ryan Dunleavy reports Big Blue may have been willing to add a player had it come to that. However, no specific names were discussed.
The Giants weren’t the only team that offered a second-rounder and more for Taylor, but the Colts “simply did not want to move him,” insider Jordan Schultz relays. Indianapolis may be more open to dealing Taylor when it has a full-time GM in place in the offseason, Schultz adds. Assistant GM Ed Dodds has been running the show on an interim basis since the Colts fired Chris Ballard on Oct. 19.
Pollard, who was a potential backup plan for the Giants, was also on the Broncos’ radar, Schultz tweets. But despite the fact that Pollard is an impending free agent on a 1-7 team, the Titans weren’t keen on moving him. They believe he’s “vital” to their locker room and the development of second-year quarterback Cam Ward, per Schultz.
After coming up short in their attempts to upgrade their backfield at the deadline, the NFC East-leading Giants will rely on improving from within. Ranking a lackluster 24th in the league in yards per carry, they currently have Cam Skattebo, Devin Singletary and Gregory Desrosiers on their active roster. Tyrone Tracy has been on IR with a hamstring injury since Oct. 27 and will miss at least three more games. The Giants moved to 5-2-1 with a 19-11 win over the Eagles in Week 9, but they did so with just 80 yards on 31 carries. Singletary amassed a mere 31 yards on 21 attempts.
This content was brought to you by: Pro Football Rumors
