The Giants just made a major trade with the Falcons that was set to happen in the offseason, but got declined for various reasons. The trade ended up being their current first for superstar guard Chris Lindstrom. Before we talk about this trade, let’s talk about the failed trades from the offseason that led to this.
A few days before the draft, the Giants and Falcons were in negotiations for Lindstrom. The Giants needed to repair their broken offensive line. Dart was one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league last season and things needed to change. The only consistent lineman was Left Tackle Andrew Thomas. The Giants wanted to bring in someone who was equally as talented or even better. Nelson from the Colts was also in negotiations but that ultimately failed when the Colts didn’t want to trade their first and Nelson for pick 1.6.
Back to the Falcons, the first trade that was submitted was Lindstrom and Bates for pick 1.6. This was two superstar 94 overall players for the pick. The idea around this was that the Giants had two major needs, Safety and offensive lineman. This trade would give them two older high overall players who shouldn’t regress that much. They have low overall guys they can build but these two would help the team immediately in a competitive NFC East. This trade was denied saying it wasn’t enough for pick 1.6.
After further negotiations, the next offer that was sent was 1.6 for Lindstrom and pick 1.21. This was a fair offer that would give the Giants their lineman and the chance to pick up another player to build. This was a fair and even trade that was denied randomly with the trade committee saying that this would cause a huge cap penalty for the Falcons and it was a bad move they couldn’t risk devastating the franchise with. With the final minutes of the trade deadline passing and with this verdict, that was it on the Lindstrom dream for coach Burn.
Or…so we thought. In week 5, HD randomly messaged coach Burn about trying for Lindstrom again. Hd was getting offers from other players but thought it would be fair to try a trade with me first. The trade that was proposed was this year’s first for Lindstrom. Now, I didn’t actually think this trade was going to be approved, I felt the same thing about the cap penalty was going to be said. I was very shocked to see it got approved.
The first being traded is a devastating blow to a team who has plenty of needs. The thought process though is that the offensive line is still a need. We are getting one of the best offensive lineman in the game with the best ability. He is 29, shouldn’t regress too hard this offseason and even if he loses his ability, he would gain it back because his overall is 92 or better. Lindstrom and Thomas pair well with the young players on the line and soon the Giants will have 5 lineman 80 overall or better who should all be on the team the rest of the cycle. We will see how things go but for now the Giants are 5-1 and looking to compete within this division.
