Giants Trade Jason Pierre-Paul to Buccaneers for Draft Picks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping the picture above is just one of many sacks defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul will land on quarterback Cam Newton.

The New York Giants agreed to send 29-year-old defensive end to Tampa Bay in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The teams will also swap positions in the fourth round of the draft, favoring the Buccaneers.

Pierre-Paul has been a member of the Giants for his entire eight year career. After 16.5 sacks in a monster sophomore season, which helped the Giants win their 4th Super Bowl, Pierre-Paul seemed poised to be the next Justin Tuck or Lawrence Taylor. While he was still solid for the next six years, he only reached double digit sacks one more time (12.5 in 2014).

2015 saw Pierre-Paul play half a season after his infamous fireworks incident on July 4 that left his hand in a cast for months. Luckily for the Buccaneers, he's returning to form, with 15.5 sacks over the last two seasons.

The Buccaneers will look to improve their pass-rush with Pierre-Paul, either as a true defensive end or quite possibly an outside linebacker hybrid. He's currently listed on Wikipedia as an outside linebacker for the Buccaneers.

With an additional third round draft pick, the Giants should be able to find one more NFL-ready player to bolster their roster in 2018. But another ripple effect of this trade could impact their first round selection: some think this could incline them to take North Carolina State pass-rusher Bradley Chubb with the second overall pick. He's a top five talent with the unfortunate situation of being in a loaded offensive class, so it would hardly be a reach if the Giants took him at number two.

The Giants also save some cap space but not as much as you would think. Of the $17.5 million Pierre-Paul was owed, the Giants will save $2.5 million with the remaining balance being dead money.

Overall, the trade should benefit both teams, but the Giants return may not be as immediate. For a pass-rush that hasn't been elite in years, losing Pierre-Paul will hurt in the short term, but the added draft value and financial flexibility should allow New York to continue building their roster. The Buccaneers get a solid defensive presence that may be past his prime, but still has some sacks left in the tank.

Header photo courtesy of SI.com

Photo #1 by Grant Halverson/Getty Images