The Colts’ 2-4 start and the dismissal of general manager Chris Ballard have opened the door to the kind of deadline talk that can reshape a roster fast. If Indianapolis decides to sell, the New York Giants look like a team worth watching closely before the Nov. 10 NFL Trade Deadline.
There’s a clear fit on offense if the Colts are willing to move Jonathan Taylor. Giants head coach John Harbaugh has already made his wish list known, saying he wants “ a Derrick Henry circumstance or a Saquon Barkley circumstance” at running back.
New York just ended its four-man rotation on Tuesday by releasing Najee Harris, but that move didn’t suddenly fix the backfield. The Giants still haven’t produced a 20-yard run from a running back this season, and the numbers are ugly across the board: Cam Skattebo at 3.6 yards per carry with four fumbles, Tyrone Tracy at 3.1, and Devin Singletary at 3.0.
The blocking has hurt, but the production hasn’t been there either.
Taylor would change that immediately. The 27-year-old has four 1,000-yard seasons in his first six years, three Pro Bowl nods, and a first-team All-Pro selection in 2021.
Injuries kept him from reaching 1,000 yards in 2022 and 2023, the only seasons he missed that mark. In 2025, he rushed for 1,585 yards and led the league with 18 rushing touchdowns.
He signed a two-year, $44 million extension with Indianapolis that runs through 2028, and an acquiring team would take on the prorated part of his 2026 salary plus roughly $34 million across 2027 and 2028. The deal also includes a 2028 out, with a $7.5 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the 2028 league year.
SB Nation’s Stampede Blue floated a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick as a fair price, while the Pro Football and Sports Network trade machine projected a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028 plus a Day 2 pick.
Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is another name that makes sense in a deadline shuffle. At 32, he’s a free agent-to-be and has been one of the NFL’s better defensive linemen since the San Francisco 49ers picked him in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
If the Colts really are moving pieces, it wouldn’t make much sense to keep him off the market. New York has gotten solid work from veteran linemen D.J.
Reader and Shelby Harris, but it still lacks depth behind them, and Buckner would solve that problem at least in the short term. He also appears ready for a change after what has been going on in Indianapolis.
The sticking points are obvious: competition and cost. Any team in the mix would need to absorb $23 million of the $26 million Buckner is making this season under the cap. Using the PFSN trade simulator, a package of 2027 and 2028 third-round picks plus Kayvon Thibodeaux still wasn’t enough to close the deal, and it also wouldn’t get the Giants, who have just over $8 million in cap space, under the cap.
Then there’s Quenton Nelson, the longshot that still belongs in the conversation. The 30-year-old guard has made the Pro Bowl in every season of his career and has three All-Pro honors, and he looks like a future Hall of Famer.
He remains one of the league’s best run blockers and a strong pass protector, but he’s also in the final year of his contract. For the Giants, he would be a major upgrade on an offensive line that has struggled to run block.
The problem is that the Giants already invested heavily at left guard in Jon Runyan Jr., who is a good pass blocker but a poor run blocker. New York gave him a two-year, $22 million extension through 2028 with $19.5 million guaranteed, so bringing in Nelson would create a pricey logjam. The PFSN trade simulator says it would take a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 first-rounder to get Nelson, and even then the Giants would be about $10 million over the salary cap.
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Giants Backfield Suddenly Has A Bigger Problem After Ugly Fallout
Najee Harris brief run with the Giants took an uneasy turn after he voiced frustration with the teams running back rotation following a rough outing against the Saints. New York had been trying to find a consistent pulse in the ground game, and head coach John Harbaugh said the unit still had not earned a rhythm, stressing the need to make the most of the chances it gets.
Instead, the conversation around the backfield shifted quickly from usage to fallout. Harris complaints put the spotlight on a situation the Giants had been hoping to steady, and the team has now moved on, closing the book on a stint that never really found its footing. The departure leaves the backfield even more unsettled at a moment when the Giants could ill afford another layer of uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Fans Already See An Evan Neal Debate Forming Up Front
The early returns on Francis Mauigoa have already become a talking point around the Giants offensive line, and it is not hard to see why. The 2026 No. 10 overall pick has been asked to make a notable transition from right tackle in college to right guard in the pros, all while trying to settle in with a line group that has already been hit by injuries and uneven play elsewhere.
Some fans have been quick to sound the alarm, but others are pushing back on the idea that his first six weeks should be framed as a full-blown disaster, especially with the specter of past Giants draft misses hanging over the conversation. However this develops, the bigger issue for the team is whether Mauigoa can find his footing soon enough to quiet the comparisons and give the front five some much-needed stability. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Suddenly Have A Chance To Fix Their Biggest Problem
The offensive line has been the Giants most obvious weak spot, and a surprising opening in Indianapolis could make that problem easier to attack. With the Colts moving on from general manager Chris Ballard after a rough stretch, the rest of the league will be watching to see whether the new regime is willing to listen on veterans, especially when it comes to a proven interior blocker like Quenton Nelson.
For a Giants team that has spent much of the season looking for stability up front, this is the kind of situation worth monitoring before the November 10 trade deadline. Nothing is confirmed, and no move has been reported, but the idea alone gives New York a rare chance to chase help where it needs it most. [Read more 🡒]