When Jaxson Dart went down with a season-ending injury against the Rams in Week 2, it would have been easy for the Giants to begin looking to the future. Not give up, but prioritize the long term over the remainder of the season ahead. 

After all, they are in just their first year under new coach John Harbaugh. The Dolphins, under first-year coach Jeff Hafley, are embracing the rebuild and have been candid about focusing on player development this season. 

Instead, the Giants began investing in the now. It helps that they are in a weak NFC East, and the leaders in the division at 4-2-1. Even before that was clear, however, they kicked off the flurry of midseason trades by acquiring quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Vikings for a fifth-round pick. They quickly benched Jameis Winston for McCarthy when Winston wasn’t playing well, willing to turn it over to their new acquisition against the Texans rather than waiting until after the bye. The move appeared risky, but paid off as McCarthy led them to an overtime victory over Houston. 

As the trade deadline looms, the Giants could be on the verge of another bold move. The team has already shown interest in star running back Jonathan Taylor, and has been peering around the running back market as a whole. Along with a running back, Harbaugh publicly confirmed he reached out to Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk about defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who was ultimately traded to the Bears.

“I did. I did. I left a message,” Harbaugh said earlier this week. “You turn over every stone. Going to try everything. I’ll put it out there, man, we’re open for any call. Anybody wants to call us, or call anybody, call.”

While it’s more customary for general managers to negotiate with each other, rather than a coach calling up an owner—especially since Giants GM Joe Schoen had already asked Titans GM Mike Borgonzi about Simmons—Harbaugh reached out to Adams Strunk anyway—and won’t be apologizing for doing so.

“It was fun to see the outpouring of interest in that,” Harbaugh said. “We’re not part of any secret society oath that says you can only talk to somebody. We didn’t get memoed on that. We’re not in that agreement, so like I said, anybody can call us, we won’t be adhering to that particular agreement.”

Harbaugh’s interest in these trades is not necessarily new. During his 18 years with the Ravens, Baltimore executed a number of midseason deals. Here’s a look back at his most notable midseason trades during that tenure.

• 2025: Traded edge Odafe Oweh to the Chargers for S Alohi Gilman; traded a fifth-round pick to the Titans for OLB Dre’Mont Jones.
• 2022: Traded LB A.J. Klein, second- and fifth-round picks to the Bears for LB Roquan Smith.
• 2020: Trade third- and fifth-round picks to the Vikings for DE Yannick Ngakoue. 
• 2019: Traded LB Kenny Young and a fifth-round pick to the Rams for CB Marcus Peters.
• 2013: Traded fourth- and fifth-round picks to the Jaguars for OT Eugene Monroe.

When Harbaugh took over as the Ravens’ coach in 2008, midseason trades were not nearly as common. His first major midseason deal came in 2013 when the Ravens traded for Monroe, who spent two and a half years with the team. Their trades primarily came on the defensive side of the ball, and the biggest one took place in 2025 when they acquired Smith, an All-Pro who remains a top linebacker in Baltimore. They never gave up a first-round pick at the midseason deadline under Harbaugh, but did make a handful of notable trades. 

It’s unclear how much the Giants are willing to give up at this year’s trade deadline, but they seem willing to at least consider a big deal given their interest in Taylor and Simmons. Whether they end up making another trade or not, the trade deadline is already revealing a lot about the Giants under Harbaugh: They believe their window is opening and are unafraid to make win-now moves—and perhaps more so than Harbaugh did with the Ravens.