In a strange turn of events, it looks like B.J. Goodson isn’t going to be waived by the Giants after all. The player was supposedly going to be waived following the end of the preseason, where other players managed to stand out more at the linebacker position and unseat the veteran who ha started for the past couple of years with the Giants, but a late offer from the Packers will allow the team to get something for Goodson instead of letting him go for nothing.
After initially planning to waive him, the #Giants are trading LB BJ Goodson to the #Packers, per @TomPelissero and me.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 2, 2019
The terms of the deal haven’t been reported yet, but the trade definitely doesn’t include another player – it’s more likely a draft pick in the lower rounds.
Goodson, a product of the Clemson Tigers, was drafted in the fourth round in 2016 by the Giants and has played with the team until this trade, becoming a regular player on defense and a starter within the Giants’ group of linebackers. Linebacker play, though, hasn’t been one of the strongest points in recent seasons and Goodson found himself falling behind enough that before the Packers offered a trade, the team intended to move on from Goodson entirely by waiving him.
With the new roster space, the Giants have signed former Dave Gettleman draft pick David Mayo, who was taken in the fifth round by the Carolina Panthers in 2015 and played with the team up until 2019 when Mayo became a free agent and signed with the 49ers before being released during the team’s final cuts. Mayo played in all 16 games last season for the Panthers and started three of them, registering 14 total tackles during the regular season.
Time will tell whether or not Mayo is good enough to stay on the team and get in the rotation, but the signing can’t hurt – and the Giants will be happy to get something in return for Goodson, a player they were intending to let go for nothing.