Big Blue View
Schadenfreude is one of the most appealing of human emotions. I can’t say I’m immune to it. Fans and writers of the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders are understandably gleeful over the Dallas Cowboys’ trade of Micah Parsons to Green Bay for two first round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Like the New York Giants, they won’t have to deal with Parsons twice every season, though all NFC East teams will see him once because they play Green Bay this year.
Giants fans, though, should be more circumspect about it than Eagles and Commanders fans. After all, four years ago the Giants were on the clock in the 2021 NFL Draft with Parsons still on the board at No. 11. He was there for the taking. Instead, then-GM Dave Gettleman traded down to No. 20. The haul of draft picks he got was considered admirable at the time, and as talented as Parsons obviously was, he played mostly off-ball linebacker in college, not considered a premium position, and there were character concerns as well.
Unfortunately, this is what the Giants got with those picks:
Beyond that fiasco, the Giants have a pretty decent history of regrettable trades themselves. Here are a few:
After three consecutive trips to the NFL Championship Game, the Giants traded future Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Huff to Washington for defensive back Dick James and defensive end Andy Stynchula. Huff had been reassured by Wellington Mara that he wouldn’t be traded. The Giants wound up going 2-10-2, the start of their 17-year “wilderness era” in which they made zero playoff appearances.
When the Giants acquired Fran Tarkenton from Minnesota in 1967, it looked as if their wilderness era was going to be a short one. Tarkenton led them to consecutive 7-7 seasons, then 6-8, and then a 9-5 season in which they were eliminated from the playoffs on the last day of the season. After regressing to 4-10 in 1972, though, Tarkenton demanded a trade and was granted his wish. The Giants never did better than 6-10 until Phil Simms got them back to the playoffs in 1981, after Tarkenton’s replacement, Norm Snead, went 8-6 in 1972. Tarkenton took the Vikings to the Super Bowl in 1974, 1975, and 1977.
One of the most fearsome pass rushers the Giants have ever had, Jason Pierre-Paul was traded by Gettleman to Tampa Bay after two-injury plagued seasons and a 2017 season which was good but less than several of his best. The Giants got a third-round pick that became defensive tackle B.J. Hill and a fourth-round pick swap that became quarterback Kyle Lauletta. Meanwhile,...
