The New York Giants have emerged as one of the more compelling stories of the 2026 season. They enter their bye week with a 4-2-1 record and sole possession of first place in the NFC East after overcoming a number of injuries along the way.
The front seven has absorbed the heaviest blows. After star pass rusher Brian Burns went down earlier this season, the Giants placed Chauncey Golston and Tremaine Edmunds on injured reserve (IR) this past week, both of them lost for the remainder of the year.
With the bye week underway, the team could look to reinforce the defensive line. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has suggested a potential trade for a familiar face in Dalvin Tomlinson, the former Giant now playing for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Sitting at 0-6, the Chargers figure to be open to dealing ahead of the November 10 trade deadline.
Giants get: DT Dalvin Tomlinson, 2028 seventh-round pickChargers get: 2028 sixth-round pick
Another veteran reserve for the Chargers who could be on the move between now and the deadline, Tomlinson would be coming full circle after starting his career in New York. The well-traveled defensive tackle isn't the interior disrupter we saw earlier in his career, but Tomlinson is also only two years removed from an 18-knockdown season with the Browns in 2024. He's a pending free agent with Los Angeles and due $2.1 million over the rest of 2026.
The Giants started the season thin on the interior after trading away Dexter Lawrence II and losing Roy Robertson-Harris to a torn Achilles. New York has gotten by through adding veterans such as Shelby Harris and DJ Reader, and Tomlinson would be another defensive tackle in that vein. The only Giants DT with a sack this season is CJ Okoye, so even a modest contribution from Tomlinson while playing about 35-40% of the defensive snaps would go a long way.
A return to New York would bring Tomlinson full circle. The Giants selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft, and he spent his first four seasons with the franchise. At 32, he would be moving from a team well out of the playoff picture to a contender, where he could contribute in a rotational role the rest of the way.
New York could use the added depth inside. While a reunion with Tomlinson would not carry the same weight as Odell Beckham Jr.’s earlier this year, the veteran could still provide useful snaps over the final stretch of the season.
The Giants have limited draft assets available for 2027, but John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen have shown a willingness to add talent when the opportunity arises, as they did last month in trading for J.J. McCarthy.
Other defensive line options could surface, including Tomlinson’s teammate Khalil Mack. The Giants were also connected to Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner prior to the trade Tuesday that sent Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday. Still, an experienced veteran like Tomlinson may offer the most cost-effective way to address a clear area of need.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Should New York Giants explore a trade for Chargers' Dalvin Tomlinson?