New York Giants: Janoris Jenkins Doesn’t Want To Stay, But Doesn’t Want To Go Either

Nov 19, 2017; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants corner back Janoris Jenkins (20) runs back an interception against Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

With the NFL trade deadline looming large this week and the New York Giants preparing to go into the game that will mark the halfway point in their season, one of the main subjects of conversation for followers of the team is cornerback Janoris Jenkins.

Jenkins entered the season with a big role on his shoulders, that of mentoring younger players such as DeAndre Baker, but with things not going as planned for the secondary and some bad performances in the early season games, things have changed and Jenkins is no longer safe from the trading block.

The Kansas City Chiefs – a team far better than the Giants right now – have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Jenkins thanks to the presence of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and the overall better status of their roster, but in reality there’s a number of places Jenkins could end up before the trade deadline and as the days pass, it seems more and more like a deal could happen.

The Giants under Dave Gettleman did show in 2018 that they weren’t afraid to move starting players during the season, after all. Key defensive tackle Damon Harrison as well as starting cornerback Eli Apple found themselves on different teams before 2018’s deadline passed, and the former had a larger role in 2018 than Jenkins has now.

But what does the player himself think about the likelihood of a trade? Well, so far, Jenkins has been noncommittal on where he’s going to end up.

“Everybody’s got their own opinion. You can’t tell me where I want to be. Ain’t nobody can tell me where I want to be. Whatever perception y’all put out there, I don’t care what they say. I’m here to play football, whether it’s here or anywhere else. It ain’t about where I want to be,” Jenkins said recently.

“It doesn’t matter where I want to be. If they let me go, they do. I just want to play football, man. I can’t control business decisions. If you’re going to let me go, let me go. Don’t beat around the bush,” Jenkins also stated.

Some may take this as a sign that Jenkins isn’t exactly loyal to the Giants organization, but to be fair to Jenkins, the Giants haven’t been committal in showing a desire to keep Jenkins here. Trade rumors have been around about the cornerback since last year, and after the team’s bad start, picked right up again.

Neither side seems married to the other one enough to rule out a trade. It only makes it seem more likely that, in an attempt to further their rebuild by giving up current talent, the Giants might move on from Jenkins and choose to suffer from the effects of a younger and more inexperienced secondary, just as they did on the defensive line after trading away Harrison last season.

Would that move be for better or worse? If the Giants do make it, we’ll have to wait until the second half of the season to find out.