The New York Giants reportedly have expressed interest in trading veteran Pro Bowl linebacker Olivier Vernon this offseason.
Seems like it’s nearing the end of Olivier Vernon‘s time as a New York Giant.
Per Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, the Giants are considering trading Vernon this offseason. Vernon signed a five-year, $85 million contract prior to the 2016 season.
It’s also a possibility that Vernon could be included in a trade package for Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen. 2019 will potentially be Eli Manning‘s final year with the Giants, and Big Blue needs to find his eventual successor. The Arizona Cardinals selected Josh Rosen with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Despite making the Pro Bowl this year, Vernon hasn’t been as productive as the Giants hoped he would be. This past season, Vernon had only 30 combined tackles and seven sacks through 11 games. He missed the first five games of the regular season due to a high ankle sprain.
Vernon eventually replaced Chicago Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack at the Pro Bowl in Orlando, FL in January.
Trading Vernon would be the right move by the Giants. For a guy making $85 million over five years, he needs to be more productive on the field. He just hasn’t done that for the majority of the three seasons he’s been in New York.
If they were to trade him, they could possibly free a good amount of money up. The Giants currently have $27 million cap space this offseason, and they already have numerous holes throughout the team. They need to figure out the Landon Collins contract situation as well. Franchise tagging Collins could cost them around $11.2 million.
If OV is traded, the Giants could potentially replace him with linebacker Lorenzo Carter. Carter had 43 combined tackles and 4 sacks in his rookie season in the NFL in 2018.
