Giants address talk of tanking season after team traded star player

The 2-6 New York Giants turned into somewhat of a seller when the club sent star defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2024 second-round draft pick and a 2025 fifth-round choice earlier this week. 

Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence insisted on Wednesday that those still inside the Giants locker room aren't thinking about the team potentially "tanking" the rest of the season as they prepare to play at the 3-5 Las Vegas Raiders this coming Sunday. 

"For me individually and as a defense, I know what I want us to be and I know what I want to be," Lawrence said, according to Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "(Williams) was a great guy. Everybody loved him. It will be hard missing that kind of piece in your locker room, but the leaders like me have to step up and keep things (going)." 

Brian Daboll earned Coach of the Year honors after he guided the 2022 Giants to a 9-7-1 regular-season record and a road playoff victory in his first campaign with the organization. Coming off this past Sunday's disheartening 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets, Daboll found himself having to explain to his players why general manager Joe Schoen traded Williams to Seattle with nine games remaining on the schedule. 

"I just told them what went down, why it happened," Daboll remarked on Wednesday, per Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Joe wasn’t actively shopping anyone. Obviously, he fields calls as the general manager." 

Schoen held onto multiple starters set to be out of contract after the season, including star running back Saquon Barkley. Quarterback Daniel Jones is on track to return to action this weekend after he missed the last three games with a neck injury, and the Giants should have an opportunity to earn a second victory in three contests versus a Las Vegas side that hit a figurative reset button in multiple ways after the trade deadline. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Giants as one-and-a-half-point underdogs against the Raiders.