TOUGH SELL
Gettleman may have difficult time trading away pricey Giants
CAN it be a sale if no one wants what might be offered?
The NFL trade deadline arrives in one week, as deals must be completed by 4 p.m. on Oct. 29. The Giants are 2-5, going nowhere and unquestionably fall into the category of sellers, with a playoff run not even the most remote of possibilities.
The hope is for development in Daniel Jones’ rookie season and enough improvement from the very young defensive corps — six of the 11 starters are in their first, second or third years — to determine who deserves to stay and be built around. No one is kidding anyone and another double-digit loss season — this would be the fifth in the past six years — is a part of this winter’s wonderland.
Dave Gettleman, in his first full season as general manager, saw what was going down in 2018 and traded away key pieces on defense — Damon “Snacks’’ Harrison and Eli Apple — and after that season sent Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon to Cleveland. When he ran the Panthers, Gettleman made the shrewd move of trading a third-round pick to the Bears for tight end Greg Olsen.
The three most likely candidates to be traded away — based on salary load — are cornerback Janoris Jenkins, left tackle Nate Solder and inside linebacker Alec Ogletree, the second, third and fourth highest-paid players on the roster. What is that you say? What about Eli Manning, the king of Giants’ salary-cap expenditures? He is not going anywhere and, remember, he calls the shots here, by virtue of his no-trade contract.
Thinking outside the box, if Gettleman looks at tight end Evan Engram and sees a young player not firmly in the future plans — Engram’s contract expires after the 2020 season — perhaps this is the time to cut him loose.
“I don’t think they want to part with him, but they may,’’ an NFL talent evaluator told The Post. “He could be a possibility.’’
Jenkins eats up $14.7 million in cap space this season and is on the books for one more year at big money ($14.75 cap hit in 2020). Jackrabbit unquestionably is the most attractive player the Giants can put on the market and, despite his quirkiness, coach Pat Shurmur appreciates Jenkins’ play on the field and his uncomplicated attitude everywhere else.
“I’ve never been a big Jenkins fan,’’ the talent evaluator said, “even though I know he plays well at times. But he’s a pain in the ass. There could be somebody out there. He would be one of the guys who would have some value in a trade.’’
There are zero, nada, no legitimate offensive tackle replacements on the roster for Solder, who is likely in his final season with the Giants, considering he will eat up $19.5 million cap space in 2020 and $20.5 million in 2021. Solder’s performance intertwined with his cost does not warrant strong interest from another team, unless something drastic happens to a contender’s left tackle in the next few days.
Ogletree is a capable player and steady presence. If rookie Ryan Connelly had not gone down with a season-ending knee injury it would make sense to shop Ogletree. It still might, although the dearth of players at inside linebacker on this team was frightening until Tuesday’s acquisition of Deone Bucannon, a former Cardinals first-round pick. It is difficult to believe Ogletree, with two more years remaining on his contract ($11.75 cap hit in 2020) is in the Giants’ plans, but is he remotely in anyone else’s plans as far as finding a trade partner?
This is not a house-cleaning scenario looming for Gettleman for a simple reason: “The house is already clean,’’ the talent evaluator said.