The New York Giants have pulled off a trade to shore up their shaky interior defensive line, sending a 2028 7th-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for 6-foot-6, 370-pound defensive tackle C.J. Okoye on Saturday morning.
“Another John Harbaugh reunion: The Giants are trading for DT C.J. Okoye, sending a 2028 7th-rounder to the Ravens for the former International Player Pathway participant,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account on Saturday. “Okoye, who recovered a fumble for Baltimore last night, heads to East Rutherford. Not only a reunion with John Harbaugh for Okoye but a fitting landing spot for a player identified by former Giants Pro Bowl pass rusher Osi Umenyiora as having what it takes to make it in the NFL after participating in Umenyiora’s Uprise camp.”
“Can confirm the Ravens have traded NT C.J. Okoye to Giants, where he reunites with DL coach Dennis Johnson and HC John Harbaugh,” The Athletic’s Jeff Zrbiec wrote on X. “Okoye, who was on the bubble, gets back a 2028 7th rounder in return.”
“John Harbaugh gets back one of his former players, who the coaches are pretty excited about,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Saturday. “Okoye recovered a fumble last night.”
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“The Giants are trading a 2028 7th round pick for DT C.J. Okoye,” Giants Report wrote on its official X account. “Okoye is 6’6” and 370 lbs. Just a massive human.”
Ravens Were Losing Patience With C.J. Okoye
With a new head coach in 2026 with Jesse Minter and an entirely new coaching staff, Okoye was being re-evaluated after playing in 13 games in 2025 — his 1st NFL games — and patience could be running out, according to Ebony Bird’s Connor Burke.
“Ultimately, while Okoye is coming off a season where he saw a good number of reps along the defensive front, most, if not all of those, could disappear in 2026,” Burke wrote on June 20. “He needs to take some strides during training camp and preseason if he wants a realistic shot at making the practice squad. He’s still a fascinating project since he remains relatively new to the sport, but for a player turning 25 this year, that project label may be losing its luster.”
Minter Already Turned Back on C.J. Okoye
There’s 1 way of reasoning that shows us Minter may have already made up his mind that Okoye doesn’t fit with his defense.
Okoye spent the 1st 2 years of his NFL career with the Los Angeles Chargers, including 1 season in 2024 with Minter as the defensive coordinator — a season in which Minter never made a move to put Okoye on the regular-season roster.
The path to the NFL for Okoye has never been traditional. Born and raised in Nigeria, Okoye came to football via an NFL Africa Camp, which got him sent to the NFL International Combine in London, which got him into the NFL International Player Pathway Program, which got him to IMG Academy to train, which is where he became 1 of 8 international players allocated to NFL teams.
Baltimore Ravens Trade ‘Massive’ Defensive Tackle for Draft Pick