Big Blue sent Beckham, their talented and troubled star receiver, packing to the Cleveland Browns for a first round pick (17th overall) and third round pick (95th overall) in next month's draft and safety Jabrill Peppers.
During an offseason where the Giants have sent mixed messages about what their intent was for 2019, it is pretty clear now that this season is about a complete and total rebuild.
The first domino to fall was Landon Collins. Now Beckham. Could Eli Manning be next? More on that in a moment.
To say Beckham's trade was stunning is an understatement. The Giants signed Beckham to a $98.5 million contract last summer, making it appear extremely unlikely they would trade him. Just the idea that some team would willingly eat the rest of that contract itself would have been a poison pill.
But don't tell that to the Browns who wanted to add some star power to join their polarizing quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The fact is Beckham has worn out his welcome in New York. As talented as he is, Beckham is a malcontent. Whether it be the constant pouting about his contract to his behavior on the field, which includes punching a field goal kicking net, peeing like a dog after a touchdown, and also putting a gigantic hole in a wall in the Green Bay Packers visiting locker room, there were a laundry list of issues. He just didn't get it.
At the same time, nobody was a more dynamic player on the field when healthy. The Giants are surely going to miss that.
The bigger question is what does this mean for Manning's place on the roster? Where are the Giants going to go for talent if Manning is still here?
Manning is due to make $23 million this year. If he is cut on March 17, the Giants owe him only $6.2 million. The logical thing to do is cut him. Manning has given no indication that he will retire, so the Giants face the toughest decision in franchise history.
For a team that has had only one winning season in the last six years, and won only eight games in the last two seasons, a drastic restructuring is needed. With the picks they got from Cleveland, we will see how David Gettleman will fix this floundering mess of a franchise.
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