NEW YORK — When John Harbaugh said "I can call Steve Bisciotti" on Monday and referred to the Baltimore Ravens owner as a "great friend," he was speaking hypothetically about the connections he might work to do business around the league.
But after Thursday's 33-10 Baltimore beatdown loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Harbaugh should make that phone call a reality and ask Bisciotti what it would cost to acquire Ravens star running back Derrick Henry.
The Giants' head coach is going for it, aggressively pursuing potential deals for a defensive tackle and a running back prior to Tuesday's NFL trade deadline. The Ravens have lost four straight and have given up a stunning 104 points in their last three games.
Harbaugh already brought longtime Ravens fullback Pat Ricard with him to New York. Why not reunite Henry and Ricard for some Big Blue bully ball?
"I'm sure he wants to get a running back," former Giants and Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said on the Talkin' Ball with Pat Leonard podcast. "If there's one in Baltimore that wants to come finish his career in New York, I think the Derrick Henry thing would be interesting to see. And he knows he can call Steve Bisciotti."
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor of course is the most coveted running back available on the trade market. The Giants are participating in those sweepstakes.
Taylor, 27, is much younger than Henry, 32. He has home run hitting ability. And the Colts are proven sellers. They already offloaded star offensive guard Quenton Nelson (Seahawks) and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (49ers).
The issue with Taylor is the price. Several other teams have shown interest, including the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. The Colts, who don't own their 2027 first-round pick, have received good offers but are waiting for better ones.
The Giants don't own picks in the fourth or fifth rounds of next spring's draft because they already used them to acquire wide receiver Malachi Fields and J.J. McCarthy. So that makes it difficult, without dipping into 2028, to put together a haul like the Niners' second, third, fourth and fifth-round pick bag shipped to the Carolina Panthers for Christian McCaffrey in 2022.
Taylor might drive the price up even further on Sunday, too, because he is playing against a putrid Dallas Cowboys defense that just gave up 202 rushing yards to the Arizona Cardinals.
But Henry, due to his 2,837 career regular-season carries, should come at a more reasonable price if Baltimore decides to sell off pieces of a team that is crumbling in the wake of Harbaugh's firing last January.
The question is whether the Ravens are going to sell. They just traded Friday for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett, giving fourth- and seventh-round picks to Arizona in exchange for Brissett and a fifth. But they had no choice with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both sidelined by injuries long term.
Henry was uncharacteristically flustered after Thursday's loss.
"It wasn't good enough, gotta be better," Henry said, cutting off the first question. "They were the better team. Same story. Wasn't good enough. Gotta be better."
He was asked about his frustration.
"I mean we lost four times, it's frustrating," he said. "I don't have the magical answer. We gotta go back to work."
Then a reporter asked if Henry was alluding to possibly playing for another team.
"I am not mentioning me going anywhere else," he said. "I'm saying let's go back to work. Lett's try to get better and turn this around."
Baltimore is not showing signs of turning their season around, however. The Ravens' hardnosed identity as a team seemingly walked out the door the day Harbaugh did.
"They've become sellers, I think, just like the Colts," Martindale said. "If they're not sellers, they need to be buyers and they need to buy defensive help."
If the Ravens try to buy defensive help, they'll be competing with the Giants and Harbaugh instead of trading with them.
Harbaugh's phone call to Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk in pursuit of Jeffery Simmons was more than just a power play by a head coach in charge of his team's personnel. It was the Giants coach trying to make a trade for one of the best defensive players in the league.
That's how he's thinking. That's what he's chasing.
"That tells you where he's at: He wants to get a defensive tackle," Martindale said.
The irony is lost on no one, as the Giants prepare to face Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles, that New York is now chasing star players at two positions where they let blue chippers leave the building recently via free agency or trade: Barkley and the Cincinnati Bengals' Dexter Lawrence.
But the Giants didn't expect to be in this position this season, in first place in the NFC East with the other three teams struggling to walk and chew gum at the same time. Tight end Isaiah Likely said Harbaugh's aggressiveness to add to the roster is welcome considering what the team has shown so far.
"I mean, the more the merrier when it comes to great players," Likely said. "And I feel like when you're in a position to be division leaders with everything in front of you, I feel like the more so that you add to your component of combat, it's great."
It's not as clear which defensive tackle Harbaugh is most likely to land. The Carolina Panthers' Derrick Brown is the most intriguing name that has been rumored as a target of multiple teams, but Carolina is in first place in the NFC South at the moment, so it wouldn't make sense for them to trade him.
He also would be very expensive. And although Harbaugh pursued Simmons, it is not believed that his trade offer would have matched the Chicago Bears', anyway.
Regardless, Harbaugh's relentlessness on the trade front is exciting. His goal in this next week — with a Sunday game in Philly, Tuesday's trade deadline and Thursday night's home game against the Washington Commanders — is to follow through on his promise at the start of the season that this year is about winning.
"John Harbaugh's a winner," Martindale said. "He wants to win, and he's proven it. They'll still have some ups and downs throughout this season, but you're gonna see balance, you're gonna see calmness. He's not riding the roller coaster. He wants to win and just keep this thing getting better."
Giants running back Cam Skattebo (hamstring) was limited on Friday and is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game, but wide receiver Malik Nabers (knee) is good to go. Nabers was upgraded to a full participant on Friday after sitting out Thursday's practice. Punt returner Charlie Jones (hand) is questionable after being limited a secondary straight day with an injury he suffered in Wednesday's practice. No other Giants have injury designations for the game. The Eagles are banged up badly as a team, but Barkley (hamstring/back) is good to go as he tries to support new quarterback Joe Milton III in his first start and Philly tries to snap a six-game skid.
