The New York Giants made a big move on Thursday, trading pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams swapped fourth round picks, and the Bucs get a third round pick as well.
JPP led the Giants with eight sacks last year, but he entered this year with a cap figure just north of $17 million. The Giants will only clear $2.5 million in cap space with this deal, carrying $15 million in dead money. It clears out future space, but this is also a tough team to figure out in terms of whether they’re rebuilding or trying to squeeze out the last of Eli Manning’s career.
If the Giants are looking to the future, drafting a quarterback, or moving down from No. 2 for a huge haul of picks makes a lot of sense. If they’re looking to compete now, this trade could open the door for them to draft NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb.
But again, what are the Giants trying to do at this point?