Stafford going back to the Rams complicates life for the Giants. He was their wildcard that would make them a contender. And both their GM and head coach need the team to look a lot better quickly. They're now looking at Aaron Rodgers as maybe the guy. That and there's lots more talk of trading up to the first overall pick to get a QB. That makes sense if the coach and GM have a long leash. Kid QBs take a while to develop, and a coach and GM on the hot seat tend to want, well need, instant results. More often than not, you don't get that with a kid QB. And this group of kid QBs isn't special.
Talent evaluation hasn't been a strength of the Giants lately. You pretty much have to go back to the Saquon Barkley pick to find a guy they'd have still taken in a redraft. Andrew Thomas wasn't horrible in 2020 but they could have taken Tristan Wirfs, Tua, Justin Herbert, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, oh, and that Jalen Hurts guy instead. Thomas is a decent tackle and God knows they need good o-linemen but they could have gotten guys pretty comparable later in the draft.
The Giants are a team that needs gutting and rebuilding. They've consistently let their best players wander off while clinging to failed prospects. (Evan Neal being a prime example.) They need to replace the entire front office/personnel group with good football people. They're just a trainwreck now.
I find it hard to find a way the Giants aren't in contention for that first overall pick in 2026. They are a bad team with very limited talent on the roster. They're a mess and the guys who made them a mess are still the ones planning the way forward. Why? How many times can you let them make a mess of things before you flush them and replace them?
Aaron Rodgers will fix everything! Uh, no. They need a new GM and personnel staff. How do you let Saquon Barkley leave and keep Evan Neal? And it's not just Barkley. They let good players leave and hang onto losers every year. That's not how you win in this league.
I would expect to hear the Eagles make a signing or two in the next few days. The coaching staff is rebuilt. The Combine is winding down. There's a bit of a lull before free agency starts on the tenth. It's time to get the guys signed you want to sign. Assuming the price is sane. Which may be assuming a lot this year as lots of teams have lots of money to spend and not a lot of good players to sign.
We'll know more how the Eagles feel about the potential of Jeremiah Trotter Jr in the coming days. If they feel he can step into Zack Baun's role, then they won't overpay for Zack Baun. If they have concerns about his ability to step up into that role then they may opt to overpay Baun.
Howie has kids ready to step into starting roles behind each free agent he could lose. And we still have the draft to add more bodies. I would expect a lot of tooth gnashing in the Philly market as free agents leave and don't get replaced. "He's destroying the team!" There's only so much money to go around though, and you drafted the kids you did to take over those roles. You can't pay everyone, so some guys will have to leave and have their roster spots taken by a younger, cheaper player. The fans won't like it, but that's life in the NFL.
Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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