Giants can bolster receiver room in blockbuster trade
A big swing at an attainable price.
Put aside your Easter planning and March madness preparation, the NFL is a year-round business and this upcoming stretch is the busiest yet.
Rumors are beginning to fly as we sit here less than a week away from the start of the new league year.
Everything from free agent signings, draft positioning, and the purpose of today's piece: trade talk.
The NFL can be kin to high school at times, with gossip flowing around league circles into the hands of the right (and sometimes) wrong people.
This time of year sees a particular increase in these types of conversations, making it difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction.
But when credible sources start to take notice, you should too, especially when it could be a huge upgrade at the Giants offensive liability.
In this case, we have not only the primary source (Deandre Hopkins) admitting the talk is valid, but a secondary source in NFL Networks Ian Rapoport.
So with this seemingly being a possibility let's dive into the last part of Ian's tweet.
Whoever decides to trade for Hopkins will gladly take his services. A former five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Hopkins is one of the best receivers of his era.
Hopkins will be 31 by the time the season starts, but he has shown few signs of slowing down.
Still playing in his patented role as a boundary X, Hopkins proved he's one of the best players in the league still whenever he touched grass in 2022.
Before this turns into a D-Hop appreciation post, let's get back to the money. Rapoport saying that Hopkins would be flexible in his money is paramount in this situation.
Why?
Hopkins has a $19.4 million base salary due in 2023 to go along with a cap hit of nearly $30 million. (Numbers via over-the-cap)
That's a tough pill to swallow for any GM, but when it's for a player on the other side of 30 coming off a six-game suspension, there are few that would even bother.
So we know his figure is negotiable, now what about the capital required to attain Hopkins?
Luckily, the asking price is slated to be more than fair.
Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Cardinals may have to shop Hopkins with the idea of receiving a day-two pick at best.
When speaking on the situation in Arizona, Breer said:
"I think it’s going to be hard for (Cardinals GM Monti) Ossenfort to get great value for Hopkins, maybe even to the point where keeping him is a better idea than dealing him. As it stands right now, if I had to ballpark it, I’d say a Day 2 pick would be what Arizona would get in return in a trade".
So here we have the ability to trade for a hall-of-fame talent, still in his prime, under the perception that he is willing to rework his deal.
And it will cost a second or third-round pick?
I'd say the Giants should make that deal in a New York minute.
