The New York Giants has agreed to trade defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and a fourth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a third- and a fourth-round pick, according to ESPN.
Pierre-Paul, a two-time Pro Bowler, has spent every year with the Giants and signed a contract extension last offseason. He had just completed the first year of a four-year $62 million contract, with $40 million guaranteed.
The trade allows the Giants to shed the salary and alleviate some of their cap burden. According to Field Yates, the move will save the Giants $12.5 million in 2018.
With a hole now at defensive end, New York could presumably use the second overall pick in the draft to select Bradley Chubb from NC State.
With Cleveland owning the top pick and the Jets trading up to the third pick, it appeared that the Giants had prime real estate for a blockbuster trade given that the front office doesn’t seem to believe they need a quarterback. Now though, with the Giants on the clock at two, and a glaring hole at defensive end, selecting Chubb makes the most sense for the franchise.
Conversely, the Bucs were willing to accept such a high price tag for a player who will drastically improve their defense. Tampa Bay was the NFL’s worst defense in terms of total yards given up and were also last in sacks. To improve their defensive line, the Bucs have spent big money on former Eagles’ Super Bowl winners Vinny Curry and Beau Allen.
The three of them will join up with Gerald McCoy, a six-time Pro Bowler, who was selected twelve picks ahead of Pierre-Paul in the 2010 NFL Draft.