The New York Giants are sitting on top of the NFC East, and with the NFL trade deadline now just one week away, head coach John Harbaugh is working every contact in his phone book — including owners of other teams — to find roster upgrades.
Harbaugh confirmed Monday that he recently left a direct message for Tennessee Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk as the Giants explored trade possibilities ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline, according to Field Level Media. It is an unusual step for a head coach to reach straight to another team’s owner, and it shows just how aggressively New York plans to shop while it sits at 4-2-1 in first place.
“I think you call who you know,” Harbaugh said.
A head coach tapping 18 years of NFL relationships
General manager Joe Schoen remains in charge of the Giants’ trade negotiations, but Harbaugh said their different networks around the league can work together. Schoen has the deeper ties to personnel executives, while Harbaugh’s long career as a head coach has given him relationships with owners and coaches across the NFL.
That includes Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, whom Harbaugh described as a close friend after spending 18 seasons coaching the Ravens. Harbaugh said the Giants have been transparent with each other about how they are approaching trade conversations.
“We’re turning over every stone, we’re making every call,” Harbaugh said. “We’re getting all the information we can possibly get at all times.”
He defended the approach, saying the Giants will not apologize for pursuing opportunities through whichever contacts give them the best information.
One week until the Nov. 10 deadline
The NFL trade deadline arrives Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. ET — the Tuesday after Week 9. Once it passes, teams cannot trade player contracts again until the 2027 league year opens, so this is the last chance for contenders to fix weaknesses and for struggling teams to stockpile draft picks.
The market is already active. Around the league, big names being discussed as possible trade candidates include Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor and Kirk Cousins, according to league-wide reporting in the run-up to deadline week. USA Today is tracking the deadline live as rumors heat up, and NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk has full rumor-mill coverage of every deal, near-deal and rumor.
For a first-place Giants team that few expected to be here, the question is whether to be a buyer — and how aggressively.
Giants in position to buy, but with limits
New York enters the week at 4-2-1, atop the NFC East and squarely in position to consider additions for a playoff push. But Harbaugh struck a careful note about what the Giants are willing to spend.
He cautioned that New York does not have unlimited draft capital and that any acquisition would need to fit both the roster and the club’s longer-term plans.
“It’s got to be something that is a need, that fits your financial profile, that fits your price tag,” Harbaugh said.
He added that the Giants would be reluctant to sacrifice future assets for a purely short-term rental, saying any deal involving draft picks should provide both immediate and lasting value.
Schoen said last week that New York planned to “canvass the league” and evaluate both the cost and availability of potential upgrades before the deadline. Harbaugh’s owner-level calls are the coaching side of that canvass — a second set of relationships working the phones in parallel with the front office.
What to watch in deadline week
Several storylines will decide whether the Giants actually make a move:
- The Titans connection. Harbaugh’s message to Amy Adams Strunk puts Tennessee squarely in the conversation. The Titans have already been sellers once this season, trading Jeffery Simmons to Chicago on Oct. 29.
- Owner-to-owner diplomacy. Coaches rarely go straight to another team’s owner on trade business. Whether the Titans’ owner engages — and whether other owners take Harbaugh’s calls — could open doors the normal GM channels do not.
- The price of winning now. Harbaugh’s warning about draft capital sets the terms: New York wants upgrades, but not at the expense of the future. Any deal has to thread that needle.
With one week left on the clock, the Giants have made one thing clear. Before the deadline passes, they intend to know everything that is available — and they are calling everyone, right up to the owners’ boxes, to find out.