The Giants were "really close" to trading Odell Beckham Jr. last offseason, NFL analyst Chris Simms claimed Monday during an appearance on PFT Live, adding that "the Giants were going to trade him and I think they were really looking and listening to all offers."

According to Simms -- who cited 'multiple sources,' the trade conversation stopped "because the team that was most aggressive in pursuing him was the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots were trying to get Odell Beckham Jr. all last offseason."

Simms suggested that the Giants became scared when it was the Patriots who showed the most interest in Beckham, surmising that such a successful team having interest in Beckham made them reevaluate things...

As the offseason continues to unfold, the quarterback market already has one less option with veteran Joe Flacco agreeing in principle to a deal with the Broncos for next season. So, with Flacco out of the way, all eyes will be focused on what Nick Foles decides to do after buying himself out for $2 million. 

Foles will have a few options, including the Jaguars and potentially the Redskins if Washington believes Alex Smith won't be ready after his devastating leg injury. But what about the Giants? 

Well, Foles seems all for signing with the Eagles' rival, as multiple sources told NJ.com's Zach Rosenblatt the veteran would "probably" be interested if the Giants decided Eli Manning isn't the man they want under center in 2019. 

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants still believe they are in "win now" mode, which means they need to add players who can help them immediately. Unfortunately, that could be difficult on the first two days of the draft, especially if they use one of their picks on a quarterback who likely won't play this year.

The Giants also have no third-round pick in this draft, after using it in the supplemental draft last year on cornerback Sam Beal. Still, they hold two picks in the first 37 selections and that's huge for a team that needs a lot of help.

The NFL Draft is 2 1/2 months away, and they'll have to get through the combine, pro days and interviews before their draft board settles down. But here's an early look at what the Giants might do on Days 1 and 2:

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive: There is no current indication at all that the Giants are actually interested in trading Odell Beckham Jr., or that they will be in the future. If somebody calls, they'll probably listen, but for them to seriously consider an offer, they'd have to be blown away.

But what if their phone rings in the next few months and someone makes a serious offer? Who would likely do that? And what kind of offer would that be?

Here's a look at who might be interested in trading for the Giants' star receiver and what they have to offer if the Giants ever entertain trading him at all.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive:

The idea that the Giants should or might trade Odell Beckham Jr. starts with a simple premise - that they're somehow better without him. He's a distraction. He wasn't the same player after his injury. He's always hurt. The Giants' offense got better last season with him on the sideline.

All of those things would be good reasons for the Giants to consider a deal. Except they're not true. And neither is the overall premise.

The Giants just aren't better without Beckham. In fact, they'll be much worse if they trade him away.

Though most NFL mock drafts have the Giants selecting a quarterback with the No. 6 pick, one defensive player they've scouted was disinvited from the NFL combine.

The NFL rescinded its invite to Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson after a background check revealed he was convicted of simple battery as a freshman after a fight at a McDonald's, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Last offseason, Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. had to see and hear trade speculation about himself, as he was searching for a long-term deal from the team. But, even after signing his mega extension, the same trade talks resurfaced on Wednesday. 

The Athletic's Jay Glazer answered fan's questions in a mailbag article, and he made his bold prediction for the offseason as the Giants trading away Beckham. Now, this was just a prediction by Glazer, but he has many sources around the league which is why social media went into a frenzy once the article dropped. 

Well, that frenzy caught the eye of Beckham, who sent out a cryptic in response. Looks like he's keeping his mouth zipped shut...

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive: Here we go again.

It was only six months ago that the Giants showed how they felt about Odell Beckham Jr. by signing him to a monster, five-year, $90 million contract with $65 million guaranteed. And it was only six weeks ago that GM Dave Gettleman responded to a question about whether he'd be open to trading Beckham this offseason by saying, "We didn't sign him to trade him, if that's what you're asking me."

So, with their wallet and their words, the Giants have made it clear they envision a future with Beckham. But with Beckham and the Giants it's never that simple.

The Baltimore Ravens agreed in principle on Wednesday in a trade to send quarterback Joe Flacco to the Denver Broncos, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

The trade could have a ripple effect across the league on teams in the market for a quarterback, particularly the New York Giants. 

If the Giants are serious about taking a quarterback in the NFL Draft, the Flacco trade appears to eliminate the possibility of the Broncos trading up ahead of the Giants at the No. 6 pick to take their guy. 

The Giants will do all the due dilligence necessary as they mull whether it's worth selecting Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the No. 6 pick in the draft -- or whether they should move up to take him as the eventual successor to Eli Manning.

But before they can get face-to-face time with him, the Giants can get a feel for Haskins' intellect in a video of him breaking down film for the Big Ten Network.

The December video shows Haskins breaking down film of the Buckeyes' win over rival Michigan before they played Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game. 

When rumors broke on Monday stating the Cardinals were thinking about drafting Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray first overall, that left their 2018 first-rounder QB Josh Rosen's future up in the air. 

In turn, many speculated the Cardinals could think about trading Rosen if Murray is the man new head coach Kliff Kingsbury wants under center. ESPN's Adam Schefter furthered that conversation by pointing out Murray chose Erik Burkhardt to be his agent -- the same one that represents Kingsbury. 

But Kingsbury, who has been outspoken about Murray's talent in the past, cleared up the talks by saying "Josh is our guy" on Tuesday. The Cardinals themselves wanted to end the rumors, posting the quote to their Twitter account.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive: Kyler Murray, the electric Heisman Trophy winner and perhaps the most polarizing quarterback in this year's draft, officially committed to football over baseball on Monday. He needed to do that to convince an NFL team to draft him in the first round.

And while he almost certainly won't end up as the Giants' quarterback, he could have an impact on who will.

Right now, the NFL world seems mixed on Murray, mostly due to his height, which is listed at 5-foot-10 even though most think he's really one or two inches smaller. New Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury once said Murray could be the No. 1 pick in the draft - before he was hired by the team with that pick, of course. Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who holds the No. 4 pick, has seemed to be openly drooling over him at times.

After weeks of speculation and a bizarre interview with Dan Patrick where he might as well have been replaced by a mime, Kyler Murray has made his choice: It's football, not baseball.

Murray, who will be forfeiting more than $4 million that would have been coming from the Athletics (who picked him in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft), had recently announced he planned to attend the NFL Combine.

And with Spring Training with the Athletics about to begin -- and the team believing they were still in negotiations with him -- Murray finally chose football...

The Saquon Barkley vs. Sam Darnold debate is never-ending, but former Giants running back Rashad Jennings is perplexed on why that is the case. 

Jennings, who played for the Giants from 2014-16, adamantly defended his former team's decision to take Barkley over Darnold in last year's NFL Draft. 

"The Giants 100 percent made the right decision," he told NJ.com last week. "Are you kidding me. You're on some real drugs if you think anything different. 

Forget browsing eBay for Odell Beckham Jr., memorabilia. Instead, you can have one of his dogs. 

Beckham's December-born puppies are up for adoption, according to New York Post's Amanda Woods.

The names of the 10 pups are out of this world -- literally. The female spanish mastiffs go by Venus, Orbit, Solar, Aurora, Luna, Star and Nova. The males are Ozone, Comet and Atom. 

As they do every year, Pro Football Focus released their Top 101 players for the 2018 season, and three Giants made the cut. 

Leading the pack was Offensive Rookie of the Year in RB Saquon Barkley, who came in at No. 27 on the list. Barkley bursted onto the NFL scene without a hitch, becoming the third rookie in NFL history to amass 2,000 yards or more from scrimmage.

The list also points out this insane stat: Barkley led the NFL in missed tackles with 71 forced on the season, with 31 coming after the catch. 

With NFL Combine participants released on Thursday, one name in particular stood out among the rest: Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray.

Murray has to choose between entering the NFL or MLB, but there has not been any evidence he is leaning toward one or the other. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick by the A's in the 2018 draft, and they are waiting patiently to see what he does. 

With the Combine taking place from Feb. 26 to March 4, Murray would have to miss a portion of A's spring training, where he is expected to report by Feb. 15. 

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants and Jets organizations don't like each other very much, which happens when teams share a stadium and a city. The Jets have long had an inferiority complex from feeling like New York's little brother. The Giants have never hid their feelings of superiority when it comes to the Jets.

So neither franchise has ever been inclined to do anything that might even appear to help out the other, which is a huge part of the reason why the two have never made a trade.

It might be time they get over those issues and their egos, though. Because a trade of draft picks between the Giants and Jets this year makes a whole lot of sense.

When ESPN's Todd McShay wrote his first mock draft in the middle of December, the Giants picked a quarterback with, at the time, the No. 10 pick.

Now that the draft order is solidified and New York has the sixth pick, he has New York picking that same quarterback.

McShay predicts the Giants will draft Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins over Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray to be Eli Manning's heir.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants appear to be poised to take a quarterback early in this year's NFL draft, now that they're finally getting serious about finding Eli Manning's successor. Taking one with the sixth overall pick is definitely in play. They could draft one early in the second round, too.

Here's a look at some of their possible choices:

We are very excited to announce that we have a new commenting platform that we'll be launching on Thursday.

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The look is slightly different than before and we've added some great, new features. You'll still be able to publish comments and follow conversations in real time. You'll continue to benefit from threaded conversations. And if you have notifications settings enabled, you'll receive emails alerting you when others reply to one of your comments or mention you.

The Giants parted ways with veteran RB Jonathan Stewart on Wednesday, as SNY's Ralph Vacchiano confirmed the team would not exercise the second year of his contract.

Stewart was due a $500,000 option bonus today, but by cutting him, the Giants don't have to dish that out. With the bonus, he would've been a $3.275 million cap hit this season. Now, the Giants have $3.025 million more in cap space to use this offseason. 

Many were confused when GM Dave Gettleman signed the 31-year-old Stewart this past offseason after seeing a decline with the Panthers in 2017. He was viewed more as a good locker presence than an expected playmaker for the team, especially after drafting rookie RB Saquon Barkley in the first round. 

Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora have seen Eli Manning at the pinnacle of his career, both winning two Super Bowls with Manning as quarterback, so of course they still have faith that he can get the job done. 

Yet the Giants have a difficult decision to make with their 38-year-old quarterback and whether or not to draft his successor to either replace or learn from under Manning. 

Umenyiora, however, believes that while his former teammate may not be able to make some of the same throws as he could 10 years ago, the Giants should steer clear of drafting a quarterback and that Manning has years left. 

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive: Two years ago the Giants felt some urgency to find Eli Manning's heir apparent, and they gave some serious thought to taking a quarterback early in the 2017 draft. Last year, they didn't feel any urgency at all and let a lot of potential franchise quarterbacks slide right by.

This year, there seems to be a sense of urgency again -- which makes sense with Manning turning 38 years old and entering the final year of his contract. The Giants still don't have an answer to who their quarterback will be when Manning is finished.

And they seem to feel like the time to make that decision is now...

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

There are still nearly three months until the NFL Draft, which means draft boards are only in their early stages and there is much scouting left to be done. Only a blurry picture has emerged of what the Top 10 looks like. It will come into focus after the scouting combine in late February and the Pro Days throughout March.

With both the Giants and Jets picking in the Top 10, though - again - it's never too early to take a peek at what the Top 10 might look like...

1. Arizona Cardinals - DE Nick Bosa, Ohio State

It was the first Super Bowl that people outside the state of Nevada could bet on, and New Jersey was among them. But it wasn't a profitable Sunday for the state. 

According to the Associated Press, sportsbooks operator in New Jersey saw $34.9 million in wagers, but they lost $4.6 million after having to pay out $39.5 million to winners. That means there were a lot of Patriots fans in New Jersey, who beat the Rams 13-3 with a -2.5 spread. 

Despite the pay backs, Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US which runs three total sportsbooks in New Jersey, saw the day as a success. He said Sunday "was by far our biggest day ever in New Jersey in terms of handle. It was really good."

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants never once looked like a threat to make Super Bowl LIII and it's hard to envision them right now as a threat to make Super Bowl LIV either. They have so much work to do just to become a winning team again. Right now even a playoff berth feels far away.

Their work towards the 2019 season has already begun, of course, and beginning on Monday they are free to start reshaping their roster. There will be some cuts and restructured contracts in the next few weeks, as the Giants get ready for the opening of NFL free agency on March 13.

Here are some of the biggest decisions they face:

Sony Michel scored the tie-breaking touchdown with 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter to help the Patriots beat the Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII, the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in NFL history, on Sunday.

Michel's 2-yard rush capped a five-play, 69-yard drive orchestrated by Tom Brady to break a 3-3 tie.

Julian Edelman totaled 10 catches for 141 yards, while Brady threw for 262 yards and an interception for his sixth championship in his career. Stephen Gostkowski's 41-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining made it a two-possession game.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

For most of the season, Saquon Barkley was running away with this award. A late push by Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, though, made it a very close contest.

And while it's hard to argue with voting for the quarterback who somewhat resurrected the Browns, and who was outstanding at perhaps the toughest position in sports, this award went to the right person. Barkley, the Giants' 21-year-old running back, was the best offensive rookie in the NFL this year.

His numbers certainly prove that -- 1,307 rushing yards, 91 catches for 721 receiving yards, making him just the third rookie in NFL history to have 2,000 yards from scrimmage. Add in 15 touchdowns and the fact that he did it behind an offensive line that was terrible at times, on a team that was a miserable 1-7 for the first half of the season, and his credentials glow even more.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants have no regrets about GM Dave Gettleman's decision to pass on several potential franchise quarterbacks to take Saquon Barkley with the second pick in last year's draft. Gettleman still believes Barkley is a "gold jacket" player. The Giants have no doubt he made the right call.

Around the league, though, it seems the jury is still out.

It's official: Saquon Barkley is the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Giants running back won the award Saturday night, beating out Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield 26.5 votes to 21.5 votes.

Colts offensive guard Quenton Nelson placed third with two votes.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

On Saturday morning a small group of NFL media members will huddle in a room in Atlanta and spend hours debating the merits of the 15 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists. They will try to sell each other on their preferred candidates, make the case for each of them for Canton, before eventually settling on a final group of five modern-day inductees.

Someday in the not-so-distant future, maybe around 2025 or 2026, a similar group will be debating the Hall of Fame credentials of Giants quarterback Eli Manning. He's a virtual lock to be included on the list of 15 finalists immediately as soon he's eligible.

But there remains a good chance that his Hall of Fame candidacy will die right there.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

Sometime on Saturday, Kevin Mawae, a long-time fixture at center for the Jets, will learn whether he's finally been selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It'll be tough, since there are three other offensive linemen on the list of 15 finalists. But if he does get the call, the honor would be overdue.

He's not the only former Jet or Giant for whom that honor is overdue, of course. Nor is he the only one who figures to be enshrined someday soon.

Here's a look at five New York football icons who deserve their spot in Canton, and the chances of whether they'll ever actually get their bust:

As the masses pack into The Fox Theatre in Atlanta on Saturday for the NFL Honors ceremony, Giants rookie RB Saquon Barkley will walk in a favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

But, unlike Patrick Mahomes, Barkley isn't a lock to win the award he is nominated for. Browns QB Baker Mayfield is also in the running, and some believe he has a great chance to stand on stage with the trophy at the end of the day.

The PFWA already named Mayfield its overall Rookie of the Year earlier this offseason, with Barkley winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year which basically serves as a runner-up. However, the fan-voted Pepsi Rookie of the Year went to No. 26, evening the odds...

Dwayne Haskins certainly is not shy about his desire to play with the Giants. 

The Ohio State quarterback grew up watching the Giants and would have no problem assuming a role behind Eli Manning as a backup if he were to be selected by the team he rooted for as a child. 

"I would love it," he said, per Tom Rock of Newsday. "I grew up watching Eli Manning back when he had [Jeremy] Shockey and [Amani] Toomer and Plaxico [Burress]. I loved that team."

Even after a season in which Saquon Barkley set rookie records and put himself in position to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, the question remains: was passing on a quarterback the right move for the Giants?

Barkley continues to have to answer this question and did so again this week leading up to the Super Bowl. 

On the Rapsheet & Friends podcast on Westwood One, the Giants running back said that people who believe the team should have selected a quarterback are "not wrong."

The NFL will reveal the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year on Saturday, and the two candidates have decided to make things interesting. 

Giants running back Saquon Barkley and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield have a friendly wager on the award. 

Barkley told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the loser must buy the winner a chain

Odell Beckham Jr. did something nice for the woman that raised him on Thursday. 

Ahead of LIII Super Bowl festivities in Atlanta, the three-time Pro Bowler surprised his mom with a new car. Beckham's mom, Heather Van Norman, shrieked when she saw the bow-wrapped 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

Two different sportsbooks believe the Giants are in the middle of the pack among all NFL teams to win Super Bowl LIV.

The Giants, according to Bet DSI Sportsbook, are at 55/1 odds to win the Super Bowl next season, which is relatively close to what the sportsbook BetOnline.ag listed them as (40/1).

At 55/1, the Giants have the 20th-best odds among all NFL teams, according to BetDSI. The Rams are the NFL favorites at 15/2 odds, while the Chiefs and Patriots are both at 8/1 odds. The Dolphins have the worst odds at 300/1.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley was featured in a Visa commercial alongside quarterback Eli Manning back in November. 

Perhaps he may get another spot during the Super Bowl.

Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents Barkley, posted a behind-the-scenes video on Twitter of Barkley salsa dancing in a future Visa commercial.

If Dwayne Haskins is on the board when the Giants make their pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and the team wants a quarterback with the pick, would they really pass on him?

NFL.com's first Mock has the Giants doing just that -- selecting Duke QB Daniel Jones instead and letting Haskins slip to the Buccaneers at No. 7.

Jones, 21, completed 237 of 392 passes (60.5 percent) for 2,674 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 11 games last season for Duke...

Phil Simms wants to see QB Eli Manning take the field for the Giants on opening day. He also wants Manning's mystery successor taking notes on Big Blue's sideline. 

Speaking at a CBS Super Bowl press conference on Tuesday, Simms made it clear New York should spend the next few months planning to draft its next franchise quarterback, and sooner rather than later. 

"They're gonna draft a quarterback this year," Simms said, per New York Post's Steve Serby. "I think they should. Time to do it. Eli could handle it. We drafted Dave Brown the first round [of the 1992 supplemental draft] when I was with the Giants. It worked out all right. We were great friends. We learned to work together and hung out together and it was awesome."

With less than three months to go until the 2019 NFL Draft, Sports Illustrated's Kalyn Kahler's updated mock draft shows high hopes for the Giants' next franchise quarterback. 

It's been over a month since SI's last mock draft -- before Dwayne Haskins led Ohio State to a Rose Bowl title with a 28-23 win over Washington. A week later, Haskins erased the questions marks by foregoing his final season of eligibility for the Buckeyes and declaring for the NFL draft.

Now, SI has the Giants selecting Haskins in the first round as their No. 6 overall pick on Thursday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m., the first day of the draft... 

The Giants' decision to pay no mind to the offensive tackle that wanted to play for New York as badly as Giants fans wanted him in a Big Blue jersey surfaced on Tuesday morning. 

Andrew Whitworth said he hoped to land with the Giants during his 2017 free agency, per NJ Advanced Media's Ryan Dunleavy. Problem was, New York's former GM Jerry Reese batted away 37-year-old Whitworth's heavy interest in the Giants.

"Just being completely honest: That was a place that my wife and I were very interested in going," Whitworth told NJ Advanced Media. "We even told our agent that we would love to hear if there was an option there. We were told there wasn't any interest there. It wasn't something that was ever a viable option for us."

The Giants are parting ways with veteran OLB Connor Barwin, with the Giants informing him that they will offically be releasing him, reports SNY's Ralph Vacchiano.

Barwin posted Tuesday on Instagram:

"The journey continues," Barwin wrote. "Thankful for it all!"

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive: For the moment, there seems to be only one quarterback in the NFL draft that most talent evaluators think is worthy of a Top 10 pick -- Dwayne Haskins. If that holds, that means the Giants will have only one shot this April at drafting Eli Manning's eventual successor.

And the Jets are perfectly positioned to mess those plans up.

Imagine that: The franchise that benefited from the Giants' decision to pass on franchise quarterback Sam Darnold last April could be the one that pushes the Giants' search for a new franchise quarterback even further into the future. That's because the Jets could have several, lucrative offers to trade down from their spot at No. 3 to a team that wants to get up over the Giants for a quarterback.

Giants running back Saquon Barkley recorded 17 yards on offense and also spent some time on defense in Sunday's Pro Bowl as the NFC lost to the AFC 26-7 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

The Giants rookie running back had two carries for 10 yards and one 7-yard catch, but NFC coach Jason Garrett put some of his offensive stars on defense.

And Barkley wasn't alone. Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and Saints running back Alvin Kamara also played on the NFC's defensive line.

Eli Manning may live to see another season as Giants quarterback. 

Per Paul Schwartz of The Post, the Giants appear to moving toward a scenario where Manning is the quarterback in 2019 while his heir apparent acts as an understudy before taking the reins in 2020. 

It would be akin to the Kansas City Chiefs, which had Patrick Mahomes slated behind starter Alex Smith in 2017 before Mahomes took over this past season.

Is there anything Saquon Barkley can't do?

The Giants rookie running back was put to the test on Thursday in the Pro Bowl Skills Competition and conquered the showdown like a champion. 

The challenge began with Best Hands, then went to Precision Passing, 40-yard Splash, the Gridiron Gauntlet and ended on an epic game of Dodgeball between the AFC and NFC.