With the NFL’s trade deadline fast approaching, will the New York Giants look to move veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie?
The New York Giants hopes of reaching the Super Bowl are long gone. All that’s left is to do this season is to see how the rookies and other young players perform and if they’ll be part of the Giants rebuilding plan.
One of the players who will not be part of the rebuilding process is 31-year-old cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
The Giants had already begun to prepare for life without Rodgers-Cromartie last season. They drafted Eli Apple out of Ohio State in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft and threw buckets of money at free agent Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins, 28, is still in his prime while Apple, 22 is only going to get better and has his best days of football ahead of him.
So they’re poised to be the Giants cornerback tandem for years to come, which makes DRC expendable. When you factor in that DRC is not playing at his 2016 Pro Bowl form, they might as well see if they can get anything for him before his value drops any further.
It’s been a difficult year for DRC. He has yet to record an interception, was suspended for the Giants lone win of the year against the Denver Broncos and has seen a significant decrease in playing time from last season.
He has 27 tackles for the season but has not been credited with a pass defended. Over his three previous seasons with Big Blue, Rodgers-Cromartie averaged 48 tackles and 15 passes defended per year.
He’ll be entering the final year of his five-year deal in 2018 with a $6.48 million salary and $8.5 million salary cap hit. So trading him to clear up some cap space would make sense for the Giants. They’re going to need as much as they can get.
Resigning their most versatile offensive lineman, Justin Pugh, as well as All-Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are going to be offseason priorities for the team, regardless of whether Jerry Reese is still the general manager or not.
Besides, a rebuilding team like the Giants can use as many future draft picks as they can get their hands on.
So don’t be surprised if the Giants trade Rodgers-Cromartie before the deadline, which arrives on Halloween—Tuesday, October 31, at 4 p.m. ET—especially if a contending team loses a defensive back to injury in Week 8.