The Athletic has live coverage of the NFL trade deadline including the latest deals, rumors and analysis.

Joe Schoen showed in his first year as New York Giants general manager that he’s willing to wheel and deal. The Giants shipped a player away before last year’s trade deadline despite having a 6-1 record.

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But sending wide receiver Kadarius Toney to the Chiefs for third- and sixth-round picks last October was about getting a return for a player who couldn’t stay on the field and wasn’t a culture fit for the new regime.

This year is far different. The Giants are 2-5 as Tuesday’s trade deadline approaches. That would seemingly position them as sellers, although with the postseason field expanded to seven teams per conference and a 17-game schedule, it’s almost impossible to be out of playoff contention at the deadline.

If the Giants beat the Jets on Sunday, they’ll be 3-5 and potentially a half-game out of the final NFC wild-card spot. Even with a loss, it seems unlikely the Giants will start a fire sale.

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Ownership is going to want to put a quality product on the field for the final four home games, while Schoen and coach Brian Daboll won’t be motivated to weaken the roster during a rough second season at the helm.

Still, Schoen and his deputies surely will be working the phones over the next week. There already have been a handful of trades around the league, and history suggests teams won’t necessarily wait until the deadline to act. The Giants shipped Toney to Kansas City the week before the deadline last year.

Here’s a breakdown of the Giants’ trade chips.

Cap hit: $10.1 million
Cap implications: The Giants would create $4.5 million in cap savings if they trade Barkley
Projected trade value: Fifth-round pick

Barkley said last week he doesn’t want to get traded, and the Giants have made sure to get word out that they don’t intend to deal him. The most likely outcome is Barkley remains with the Giants for the rest of the season, with a variety of factors contributing to the unlikelihood of a trade.

It will be easy for the Giants to rebuff suitors since they’re unlikely to receive a strong offer for a running back with an injury history in the final year of his contract who would bring a $4.5 million salary to his new team. An NFL executive, granted anonymity so he could offer candid analysis of another team’s roster, pegged Barkley’s trade value as a Day 3 pick for those reasons.

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The Giants certainly won’t be compelled to dump their best offensive weapon for minimal return, especially if they believe they can make a second-half run. And even if they lose to the Jets and the outlook is bleak for the rest of the season, Schoen and Daboll would need to be conscious of the message it would send to the locker room if Barkley was dealt.

“His presence does a lot for the locker room,” the executive said. “Him saying that he doesn’t want to leave, that’s probably a guy you hang onto.”

Barkley’s long-term future is murky, but that’s an issue that can be addressed during the offseason.

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Cap hit: $19.1 million
Cap implications: The Giants would create $6.7 million in cap savings if they trade Jackson
Projected trade value: Sixth-round pick

All-Pro safety Kevin Byard was traded from the Titans to the Eagles for safety Terrell Edmunds, a fifth-round pick and a sixth-round pick. The executive said Jackson would be worth far less because Byard is a better player, is cheaper ($2.4 million remaining salary this season) and is under contract through next season.

But there still should be a market for Jackson if the Giants want to move him. Cornerback is a need for a few contenders, with Schoen’s former team, the Buffalo Bills, standing out among a group that also includes the San Francisco 49ers.

The problem is Jackson’s bloated remaining $6.7 million salary, so the Giants would likely need to eat some money to facilitate a trade. The quality of the pick the Giants receive would improve based on the amount of the salary they’re willing to pay.

It would be tough to deal the team’s lone established veteran cornerback for a Day 3 pick, but Jackson isn’t part of the future. If rookie Tre Hawkins had performed better to start the season, it would be easier to stomach a Jackson trade.

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Cap hit: $32.3 million
Cap implications: The Giants would create $10 million in cap savings if they trade Williams
Projected trade value: Fourth-round pick

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Things would come full circle if the Giants traded Williams at the deadline during a contract year. That would mirror how the Giants acquired him from the Jets at the 2019 trade deadline for third- and fifth-round picks.

Williams is still an impact player at a premium position, but his salary is prohibitive. Only four teams currently have enough cap space to fit the $10 million salary he’s due for the rest of the season.

“That’s pretty significant because the team that’s going to be taking that on probably doesn’t have a wealth of cap room,” the executive said. “If you’re competitive, you’ve probably exhausted your resources to a certain extent.”

The Giants certainly would need to eat some of Williams’ salary to facilitate a trade, which the Jets did when they paid $4 million of the remaining $6 million on his contract when they dealt him to the Giants. Doing that would only make sense if the Giants intend to wave the white flag on the season.

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Cap hit: $2.7 million
Cap implications: The Giants would create $975,000 in cap savings if they trade McKinney
Projected trade value: Fourth-round pick

Trading McKinney makes sense only if the Giants embark on a fire sale. He’s young, cheap, plays every snap and is a team leader.

“He’s a good player,” the executive said. “He’s one I think you retain.”

The executive said he would be reluctant to trade McKinney for a fourth-round pick but doesn’t think the Giants would get a better offer. The Giants could be prompted to deal McKinney due to concerns about their ability to re-sign him after the season. But even if the sides are far apart in negotiations, the Giants could let McKinney test the market and potentially retain him if he doesn’t receive offers as lucrative as he’s likely anticipating.

Cap hit: $5 million
Cap implications: The Giants would create $2.1 million in cap savings if they trade Campbell
Projected trade value: Late-round pick swap

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Moving Campbell would be a straight salary dump. He looked like a solid prove-it-deal addition in the offseason, but he’s no longer a part of the offense, playing just four snaps in the past two games.

The parameters for a potential Campbell deal are clear: In the past three weeks, three wide receivers — Chase Claypool, Van Jefferson and Mecole Hardman — were dealt with a 2025 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Even with those low stakes, teams may be hesitant to take on Campbell’s remaining $2.1 million salary. If the Giants are desperate to recoup some money, they could waive Campbell after the trade deadline and hope a team claims his contract. But Campbell isn’t a locker room problem and the savings would be minimal, so it would make more sense to hold onto him for depth.

(Photos of Leonard Williams, Saquon Barkley and Adoree’ Jackson: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)

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