The New York Giants lost former second-round pick Azeez Ojulari in free agency on Monday. The 24-year-old pass rusher signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Couple with the frustration of losing a promising young player to a stacked division rival is the Giants’ hesitance to trade Ojulari at the deadline.
The Giants were reportedly offered a fifth-round pick for Azeez Ojulari at the trade deadline
The Giants received plenty of interest in Ojulari at the trade deadline mid-way through the 2024 season. The Giants’ season was seemingly lost and out of control by that point. Nevertheless, New York opted to hold onto their players and did not make a single trade at the deadline.
According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, the Giants might have passed up on a fifth-round draft pick for Ojulari at the deadline:
“The Giants were 2-7 at the trade deadline. Heard at the time a fifth-round pick was offered for Azeez Ojulari,” Raanan reported on X. “But Kayvon Thibodeaux was injured at the time. Ojulari starting. Giants decided to keep him. Ojulari eventually got injured again and now he chose to go elsewhere.”
Ojulari finished the 2024 season with 28 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss, and 6.0 sacks. He played in only 11 games, making five starts, and appearing on the field for 58% of the Giants’ defensive snaps. Whenever he is on the field, Ojulari has flashed great potential. However, injuries have held him back from reaching that potential.
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- Giants reportedly passed on 5th-round pick at deadline for player they let sign with Eagles anyway
Ojulari will have a chance to break out with the Eagles
At the time, the 2-7 Giants received plenty of criticism for not trading away any of their assets. Both Ojulari and veteran WR Darius Slayton received interest from teams around the league. The two players were both impending free agents.
While the Giants were able to sign Slayton to an extension, they failed to do the same with Ojulari. Instead, he will have an opportunity to turn his career around while playing on a loaded Eagles defensive line that is fresh off a Super Bowl victory. Like Saquon Barkley last year, the Eagles present a unique and perfect opportunity for Ojulari to break out.
Meanwhile, the Giants, who still have plenty of holes to fill despite their best efforts in free agency, are now without both Ojulari and the additional fifth-round pick they could have acquired in exchange for him.
