Trade Hakeem Nicks? Of course the Giants should

The Hakeem Nicks trade rumors have begun circulating, which makes perfect sense with the 0-5 New York Giants going nowhere fast and Nicks heading to free agency at the end of the season.

Should the Giants trade Nicks? If they get an offer they like -- which, for me, would be one including multiple draft choices -- of course they should.

Five games have made it obvious that the Giants, as currently constructed, don't have enough talent to compete with the best teams in the NFL. I don't know if they will turn out to be "epically awful," as ESPN's Dan Graziano claims, but they are a whole lot closer to the bottom-feeding Jacksonville Jaguars than they are to the league's upper-echelon teams.

That's a stunning development that no one really saw coming this season, but it's the truth. GM Jerry Reese and the organization have to recognize now that they have hung on to many of their veteran players too long. The other truth is that draft and free-agent mistakes have left them without enough talent to replace many of those fading veterans.

The Giants 2014 roster will have to look significantly different than the current one. It is time for the Giants to re-stock the cupboard. Nicks, still just 25, is the best chip they have.

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There is word that New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, dealing with an inexperienced group of wide receivers, is frustrated by his lack of weapons. How good do you think Nicks would look catching passes from Brady, especially teamed with Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski?

The defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens are in need of a receiver. So are the San Francisco 49ers. Any contending team looking for help at the receiver position would be crazy not to consider Nicks. As Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports wrote recently, "Nicks would immediately leap past Kenny Britt as the best receiving option available" if the Giants put him on the trade block.

Why wouldn't the Giants consider trading Nicks?

[Related: Peter King says Giants should trade Nicks]

The farther the Giants sink this season the less likely it becomes that they will be willing to spend $10-12 million per season to keep Nicks for the next several seasons, which is probably what it will cost. Whether he's worth that is another debate, but that seems like the potential price tag.

Besides, even if the Giants want to keep Nicks no one really knows for sure if he wants to stay. Much of his offseason and preseason, skipping OTAs and barely practicing or playing, was spent protecting himself from possible injury, thus protecting his future earnings potential. Has Nicks had one foot out the door the whole time, looking forward to what he could earn if a bidding war for his services were to develop? Maybe.

The last thing the Giants, desperately in need of an infusion of talent in many positions, can afford is to allow Nicks to walk away at the end of the season and get nothing in return.

So, yes, put him on the market now and start preparing for your future by stockpiling 2014 draft choices.

Your thoughts, Giants' fans?

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