If the New York Giants want to pull off a New England Patriots-esque turnaround in 2026, the blueprint has been laid out for them to follow.
Hire an esteemed head coach? Check. Have an exciting young quarterback entering his second season in the pros? Check.
The only snag? They don’t have the ample cap space New England had heading into the 2025 offseason.
When free agency began last March, the Patriots had roughly $125 million in cap space, and they took advantage of it. They dolled out over $365 million in contracts to players like DT Milton Williams, WR Stefon Diggs, and OLB Harold Landry, helping propel them to their 14-3 record and eventual Super Bowl appearance.
The Giants aren’t as equipped to splurge in free agency. As of now, they have roughly $7 million in cap space before cuts or restructures, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t moves out there to be made.
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle Named Giants Trade Target
The New York Giants can still make some trades to improve their roster, and Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine urged Big Blue to target Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, a player they reportedly had an eye on at the 2025 trade deadline.
“The wide receiver market could be interesting for the Giants. Wan’Dale Robinson had a huge breakout season, but they’ll have to decide if he’ll continue to produce at that level for the contract he could command,” wrote Ballentine.
“If they decide that isn’t the case they could circle back on a name like Jaylen Waddle after showing interest in him at the trade deadline.”
New York’s wide receiver core is looking questionable at best heading into the 2026 offseason. Their leading receiver, Wan’Dale Robinson, is set to test unrestricted free agency, and it’s no guarantee he returns to the Giants.
Malik Nabers is a budding star, but his serious knee injury paints a murky picture for the start of the 2026 season. At locker room clean-out day, Nabers was unsure if he would be ready for Week 1 as he rehabs from a torn ACL and meniscus.
Trading for Waddle would provide Jaxson Dart with a bona fide No. 1 wideout that he can build chemistry with throughout the summer, and give him a more consistent option than Darius Slayton.
Would the Dolphins Part Ways With Jaylen Waddle?
The New York Giants would certainly love to add a talent of the caliber of Waddle, but the better question is whether the Miami Dolphins would be willing to part with him.
Waddle is entering the first year of a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension he signed in May 2024, but it’s important to note that the general manager who inked Waddle to that deal is no longer employed by the organization.
Over the Cap has the Dolphins at -$16.2 million in cap space heading into the 2026 offseason, and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has his work cut out for him to clean up their books.
Tyreek Hill is the more obvious choice given his age and recent injury, but Waddle would certainly fetch a higher price on the trade market.
Could the Giants 2026 first-round pick entice Sullivan enough to part ways with his promising young wide receiver? It’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Miami is clearly going to try to rebuild this thing from the ground up, and the best way to do that is to acquire premier draft capital. Waddle could be the key piece in kickstarting a long-term Dolphins rebuild.
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