In a somewhat surprising move, the New York Giants are reportedly set to trade defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Compensation wise, the Giants and Buccaneers are swapping 2018 fourth-round draft picks, and the Giants will be receiving an additional third-round pick in 2018 in the trade. The decision to trade Pierre-Paul comes less than a year after Pierre-Paul and the Giants agreed upon a four-year, $62 million extension that included $40 million in guarantees, and a $20 million signing bonus.

From the Giants perspective, this will open up cap space on their salary sheet for 2018 and beyond. That means that they could be getting ready to pay two of the NFL’s premier stars in wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr and safety Landon Collins. Beckham Jr. is currently scheduled to be a free agent after the upcoming NFL off-season, and will likely become the highest paid receiver in the league whenever he lands his new deal.

For Collins, as it stands right now, he will also be a free agent following the 2018 season. It’s very likely Collins will become the NFL’s highest paid free safety on his next contract, as he will likely exceed the $40 million in guarantees the Kansas City Chiefs gave to Eric Berry in his contract extension last off-season.

Tampa Bay reportedly tried to acquire defensive end Robert Quinn via trade with the Los Angeles Rams before the Rams traded Quinn to the Miami Dolphins earlier this off-season, so they have been active looking for ways to upgrade their pass rush since the conclusion of the Super Bowl. Pierre-Paul is the second notable addition to the Buccaneers’ defensive line this spring, as defensive end Vinny Curry was inked to a three-year pact worth up to $27 million last week.

With their pass rush now solidified, the Buccaneers can look to use the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to upgrade other areas of their roster like their secondary, offensive line, and maybe even running back if Saquon Barkley somehow falls to them. Minkah Fitzpatrick from Alabama seems like a really good fit, and Quenton Nelson, who is the best offensive lineman in the draft, would really help out their already improved offensive line that’ll feature Ryan Jensen as the team’s new center in 2018.

As for the Giants, it appears now that Bradley Chubb could very well be their pick at second overall in the draft, as he offers a cheaper and younger alternative to Pierre-Paul. Barkley could also very well be in play at number two still, and it doesn’t look like a rookie quarterback will be taken by the Giants in the first-round at least, with the organization still confident Eli Manning will be able to lead them for a couple more seasons.

Pierre-Paul, a two-time Pro Bowler and a former first-team All-Pro, had 68 total tackles, 8 sacks, 5 pass deflections, and 2 forced fumbles in all 16 regular season games in 2017. His career stats come out to 433 total tackles, 58 sacks, 47 pass deflections, and 13 forced fumbles.

[twitter-follow screen_name='tony_montalto' show_count='yes'