![\"Malik](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2231382956-e1770410096550.jpg\")
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Malik Nabers #1 of the New York Giants comes out of the tunnel onto the field prior to the game against the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n
If the New York Giants<\/a> want to pull off a New England Patriots-esque turnaround in 2026, the blueprint has been laid out for them to follow.<\/p>\n Hire an esteemed head coach? Check. Have an exciting young quarterback entering his second season in the pros? Check.<\/p>\n The only snag? They don\u2019t have the ample cap space New England had heading into the 2025 offseason.<\/p>\n When free agency began last March, the Patriots<\/a> had roughly $125 million in cap space, and they took advantage of it. They dolled out over $365 million in contracts to players like DT Milton Williams,<\/a> WR Stefon Diggs,<\/a> and OLB Harold Landry,<\/a> helping propel them to their 14-3 record and eventual Super Bowl appearance.<\/p>\n The Giants aren\u2019t as equipped to splurge in free agency. As of now, they have roughly $7 million in cap space<\/a> before cuts or restructures, but that doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t moves out there to be made.<\/p>\n Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle Named Giants Trade Target<\/p>\n The New York Giants can still make some trades to improve their roster, and Bleacher Report\u2019s Alex Ballentine urged Big Blue to target Miami Dolphins<\/a> wide receiver Jaylen Waddle<\/a>, a player they reportedly had an eye<\/a> on at the 2025 trade deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wide receiver market could be interesting for the Giants. Wan\u2019Dale Robinson had a huge breakout season, but they\u2019ll have to decide if he\u2019ll continue to produce at that level for the contract he could command,\u201d wrote<\/a> Ballentine.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they decide that isn\u2019t the case they could circle back on a name like Jaylen Waddle after showing interest in him at the trade deadline.\u201d<\/p>\n New York\u2019s wide receiver core is looking questionable at best heading into the 2026 offseason. Their leading receiver, Wan\u2019Dale Robinson,<\/a> is set to test unrestricted free agency, and it\u2019s no guarantee he returns to the Giants.<\/p>\n Malik Nabers<\/a> is a budding star, but his serious knee injury paints a murky picture for the start of the 2026 season. At locker room clean-out day, Nabers was unsure<\/a> if he would be ready for Week 1 as he rehabs from a torn ACL and meniscus.<\/p>\n Trading for Waddle would provide Jaxson Dart<\/a> with a bona fide No. 1 wideout that he can build chemistry with throughout the summer, and give him a more consistent option than Darius Slayton.<\/a><\/p>\n Would the Dolphins Part Ways With Jaylen Waddle?<\/p>\n The New York Giants would certainly love to add a talent of the caliber of Waddle, but the better question is whether the Miami Dolphins would be willing to part with him.<\/p>\n Waddle is entering the first year of a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension he signed in May 2024, but it\u2019s important to note that the general manager who inked Waddle to that deal is no longer employed by the organization.<\/p>\n Over the Cap has the Dolphins at -$16.2 million in cap space heading into the 2026 offseason, and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan<\/a> has his work cut out for him to clean up their books.<\/p>\n