The Kayvon Thibodeaux trade drama involving the Giants and the 2026 NFL Draft seems to be over.
After weeks of rumblings leading up to the draft, a report on Day 2 seemed to heat those trade rumors to a boil. That report stated the Saints and Giants were engaged in trade talks involving Thibodeaux. However, that was not the case, as New Orleans went on to deal for a different former first-round pick on Day 3.
The Saints acquired edge Tyree Wilson from the Raiders on Saturday, putting a kabash on the Thibodeaux trade talks with New Orleans.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported after the Wilson deal was done that potential trade talks between the Saints and Giants for Thibodeaux had been had over the last few weeks, but Big Blue held firm to the compensation they wanted and New Orleans pivoted.
SNY's Connor Hughes notes that while the Saints were among teams "poking around" Thibodeaux, talks between New Orleans and the Giants happened about a month ago, and not recently.
The Thibodeaux trade rumor saga had permeated the draft even before the Day 2 report. When the Giants selected edge Arvell Reese with the No. 5 overall pick, GM Joe Schoen and head coach John Harbaugh were asked about Thibodeaux's status with the team, and whether there's flexibility to move him, considering the roster now has four edge rushers.
"We keep all the good players as much as we can," Harbaugh said. "We love Kayvon."
When the aforementioned report came out -- along with Thibodeaux posting a cryptic IG story -- the topic was broached to Schoen and Harbaugh again.
"There's no truth to that," Schoen said of the report. "We have not had any conversations today about Kayvon. So, that's not true."
Thibodeaux, who was drafted as the fifth overall pick in the 2022 draft, had a strong rookie campaign -- finishing fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting -- and followed with 11.5 sacks and 50 tackles in his sophomore season. However, Thibodeaux's playing time has been hampered by injury, playing in just 22 games the last two seasons. Over his four seasons with the Giants, Thibodeaux, 25, has 23.5 sacks.
Going into the upcoming season, the Giants have Thibodeaux, Reese, Brian Burns and recently-acquired Tremaine Edmunds as pass-rushers. With that stash of edges on the roster, a Thibodeaux trade can happen, but at least for now, the Oregon product is staying with Big Blue.
Joe Schoen says that the Giants "have not had any conversations today about Kayvon" and that the rumors about trade talks with the Saints are "not true" pic.twitter.com/Mzom6VIjtt