HAUNTED 4-EVER
JETS WILL RUE DRAFT DAY THEY PASSED ON DESHAUN
When Jonathan Casillas was reminded that Tuesday is the NFL trading deadline, and that the events of this sorry season, more than most, could trigger the Giants to make a move or two, his eyes widened. “Of who?’’ Casillas asked. In the next breath, the veteran linebacker sent a message to general manager Jerry Reese.
“That happens,’’ Casillas said. “I’ve been a part of a trade. Not too many guys have. I’m hoping you aren’t talking about me. I’m gonna have to call up Jerry after this and talk to him.’’
Casillas does not want to go anywhere. More than likely, none of the Giants are going anywhere. But you never know.
They are 1-6 and all their goals for this season are already ruined. Eli Manning is not going to lead the Giants anywhere, but he certainly would be an attractive addition to a contending team — although the no-trade clause in his contract means he’s staying put. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is an experienced and talented cornerback — a rare commodity in the league. Shane Vereen is a capable running back with a Super Bowl pedigree. Casillas, if he recovers fully from a neck injury, could help someone’s defense.
No one could blame any of these players for wanting to move on, but all of them said they want to stay.
“Absolutely,’’ Vereen said Monday as the Giants returned to work following their bye week. “I want to finish what I started here.
“I’m excited to be here, ready to be here. It’s a business, I understand it, if something happens, it happens. But my mindset, I’m here.’’
In his 10 years running the show as general manager, Reese has made an in-season trade only once, acquiring linebacker Jon Beason from the Panthers Oct. 3, 2013, for a seventh-round draft pick. Beason was hurting and benched in Carolina and he enjoyed a career resurgence, albeit brief, with the Giants, who won seven of their last 10 games that season after a horrid 0-6 start.
Casillas, 30, is from Jersey City and knows how this works. He won a Super Bowl with the Saints as a rookie in 2009 before moving on to the Buccaneers. He wanted out of Tampa during a 2014 season that devolved into a 2-14 mess and was granted his request, traded in late October that season to the Patriots, acquired in time to get his second Super Bowl ring.
With the Patriots rolling along at 6-2 and this past week losing linebacker Dont’a Hightower to a season-ending torn pectoral, Casillas could be an attractive option. He certainly would be a familiar option.
“I’ve played there, I got a great relationship with Bill [Belichick] and [defensive coordinator] Matt Patricia and those guys over there,’’ Casillas said. “But I want to be here. Hopefully those guys hear me saying this, they take that into consideration the next 24 hours. I want to finish my career as a Giant. However many years I got left, I want to finish ’ em all here.’’
Rodgers-Cromartie, 31, could be the most likely to get shipped out. He has not played to the level he displayed in 2016 and has run afoul of head coach Ben McAdoo, violating team rules and getting suspended for one game, the Giants’ lone victory of the season, in Denver. In his return last week, RodgersCromartie played only 16 of the 76 defensive snaps in the 24-7 loss to the Seahawks and said he felt the reduced playing time was the aftereffects of the suspension — a claim refuted by McAdoo.
“I’m just trying to fit in here,’’ RodgersCromartie said. “I ain’t going nowhere. I don’t even get into that.’’
Rodgers-Cromartie denied a report he asked for a trade and said his agent checked with him to make sure he did not want him to explore any deals on his behalf.
“I told him don’t look into that,’’ RodgersCromartie said. “I don’t think about that. Trading ain’t on my mind.’’ It is the last thing on Casillas’ mind. “I would fight here no matter what the record is,’’ he said. “We started something here, I’ve been here for a couple years, we’re a team of warriors, man. I wouldn’t go out there and fight without my guys, my warriors, and battle without them. At the end of the day sometimes you don’t have a choice. I wouldn’t trade this locker room, this group of guys for anyone in the world. And I’ve been a part of two Super Bowl teams.’’