He looks surplus to requirements every time the New York Giants add a new versatile edge-rusher, but everybody’s favorite trade candidate, Kayvon Thibodeaux, can still have a future with Big Blue. A future based on the $100 million plan successfully executed by another NFL franchise to keep a trio of premium pass-rushers on the roster.
It’s an expensive blueprint spelled out by Dan Duggan of The Athletic. He acknowledged Thibodeaux seems destined for pastures new after the Giants traded for Brian Burns in 2024, then drafted Abdul Carter third overall a year later, but Duggan also pointed out the Pittsburgh Steelers “showed this offseason a team can pay three edge rushers when they gave third edge rusher Nick Herbig a four-year, $100 million extension. The Steelers are already paying T.J. Watt ($41 million per year) and Alex Highsmith ($17 million per year).”
For the Giants to even consider following what the Steelers did, Thibodeaux would need to return to the 11.5-sack form he showed in 2023. Otherwise middling production is another reason why the fifth player taken in the 2022 NFL draft continues to be the subject of trade rumors.
It’s debatable the Giants would even want to keep Thibodeaux on the same depth chart as Burns and Carter. Either beyond this season’s trade deadline or through free agency next year.
Fortunately, the Giants have the financial means to at least consider offering Thibodeaux a reprieve, provided he can earn one in what’s sure to be a situational role.
Kayvon Thibodeaux Still Has a Chance
Duggan explained why “the Giants have some wiggle room if they want to commit to Thibodeaux, since Carter can’t be extended until after the 2027 season while Burns is signed through 2028.”
GettyThe Steelers have shown the Giants how to keep a group of gifted edge-rushers together.
It’s only worth exploiting the fiscal means to keep Thibodeaux around if he finally emerges as a more consistent force. Turning enough pressures into sacks and turnovers has long been a problem for the former Oregon star, but Thibodeaux has occasionally proved he can be a game-wrecker at the pro level.
He’s a 6-foot-5, 258-pounder who can rush the passer with power and also set a hard edge against the run. Thibodeaux was doing all of those things last season, despite a lingering shoulder problem that eventually landed him on injured reserve in December.
Staying fully healthy and buying into a different way of doing things under new head coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is how Thibodeaux salvages his Giants career.
That would be a win-win for the Giants because an improved Thibodeaux fetches more in trade next offseason. Before then, he’d only add to arguably the most loaded edge-rusher rotation in the league.
Giants Right to Maintain Loaded Edge-Rusher Corps
A big problem for Thibodeaux is he hasn’t played enough while Burns has joined the ranks of elite edge defenders. Meanwhile, Carter is showing signs of the maturation needed to enhance his natural athletic talents.
Carter and Burns are formidable bookends for a rebuilt front seven, but Wilson still needs quality depth to make his schemes work. It’s why Thibodeaux retains his value, but so does ex-Dallas Cowboys roving disruptor Chauncey Golston.
GettyBurns (0) and Carter (51) will take the lead for a new-look Giants’ defense, but they still need the help Thibodeaux can provide.
The latter is the same kind of roving pass-rusher as Thibodeaux, while the team’s top draft pick this year, Arvell Reese, can also be used to rush off the edge. Reese’s versatility is key to a defense based on moving parts up front.
It’s why Thibodeaux shouldn’t be offloaded just yet, and also why he can enjoy the kind of season that might encourage the Giants to follow the Steelers’ lead.
Giants Have $100 Million Reason to Keep Kayvon Thibodeaux