The Giants didn't get Jeffery Simmons, and John Harbaugh wants everyone to know he tried anyway. He called Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk directly, left a message, didn't get a callback before Tennessee shipped Simmons to the Bears last Thursday for multiple first-round picks. The more useful New York Giants injury news out of East Rutherford on Monday wasn't the voicemail, though. It's that the Giants' backfield is down to a hamstring working on the side and a body on injured reserve, with nine days left before the Nov. 10 trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET.
Harbaugh, for what it's worth, had no interest in pretending otherwise. Asked directly about the call, he didn't dodge. "I did, I did," he said. "I left a message because you're turning over every stone, going to try everything." Then he went looking for the name of a pop song about phone calls, landed somewhere between Carly Rae Jepsen and Blondie, and moved on. That's the tell with this front office right now: they're not hiding the hustle, they're broadcasting it.
Why Didn't the Giants Land Jeffery Simmons?
Simmons was always a long shot once the bidding opened. Chicago won him for multiple first-round picks, a price that tells you the market for an ascending interior defensive lineman in his prime is still a two-firsts conversation around the league. Harbaugh's framing was that the Giants are simply not operating under any gentlemen's agreement about who talks to whom. "We're not part of any secret society oath that says you can only talk to somebody," he said. "We're not in that agreement." That's a coach telling you, on the record, that his front office works the phones at every level, ownership included, because Joe Schoen's staff believes that's how trades actually get finished in a league built to make them hard.
checked the almanac on this one: the going rate for a true difference-making defender at the deadline or in-season hasn't moved much in years. the Rams paid the Jaguars two first-round picks plus more for Jalen Ramsey back in October 2019, and that number has basically become the toll booth for stars at premium positions ever since. Simmons going for multiple firsts isn't an outlier. it's the going rate.
What's the Giants' Running Back Situation Right Now?
Here's where the Simmons miss actually matters for New York's season. Running back is a real need, not a depth-chart luxury. Cam Skattebo, who has been in and out of the starting role over the past month, was limited to work with a trainer on the side at Monday's practice while dealing with a hamstring injury. Tyrone Tracy Jr., the other half of that timeshare, was recently placed on injured reserve with a hamstring issue of his own. That's two hamstrings, one practice squad level of clarity, and a Giants coaching staff that has already flip-flopped starters once this season trying to find stability at the position.
| Giants Trade Deadline Snapshot | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trade deadline | Nov. 10, 4 p.m. ET |
| 2027 draft picks on hand | Five |
| RB1 (Skattebo) | Hamstring, limited to side work Monday |
| RB2 (Tracy Jr.) | Hamstring, on injured reserve |
| Lost target | Jeffery Simmons, traded to Bears |
| Reported target | Jonathan Taylor, Colts |
Is Jonathan Taylor Actually on the Table?
The reporting out of league circles says the Giants have interest in Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, and that a deal would also cost multiple high picks. That's a notable ask for a team that, by Harbaugh's own admission, is already thin on 2027 draft capital, currently holding just five selections. General manager Joe Schoen said last week that any move has to make sense for the "short term and long term," and Harbaugh echoed that Monday almost word for word: "You want to have a short-term and a long-term win if you're going to do it with draft capital." That's a front office talking itself into discipline out loud, which is either a healthy guardrail or a tell that the appetite for overpaying has limits even with a need this obvious.
Veteran tackle Andrew Thomas, when asked about the front office window-shopping, wasn't bothered by it. "It's a players' league," he said. "Anytime you have an opportunity to acquire whoever the player may be, the thought is that they'll help our team win. And our goal is to win games." Thomas isn't wrong that the locker room generally wants the roster upgraded by any means available. The tension is that upgrading the backfield with a player of Taylor's caliber and upgrading the interior defensive line were always going to be two different bills, and the Giants may not be able to pay both.
What Comes Next Before the Nov. 10 Deadline?
Simmons is gone, which simplifies one half of New York's shopping list by removing it entirely. The other half, a true running back solution, is now more urgent with Skattebo limited and Tracy on IR. Harbaugh's "always, always" answer when asked if the Giants are looking to add a significant player by the deadline wasn't hedged at all, and neither was his admission that doing it is "easier said than done" given the pick inventory he's working with.
Watch two things over the next nine days: whether Skattebo's side work turns into full practice reps before Sunday, and whether the Taylor conversation with Indianapolis ever becomes a real offer instead of a reported interest. Both will tell you more about how the Giants actually finish this trade season than any voicemail Harbaugh leaves between now and the 4 p.m. deadline on Nov. 10.
