Giants Trade Josh Ezeudu to Chiefs for 2028 Seventh-Round Pick, Second Lineman Dealt in a Week

The Giants are cleaning house on the offensive line before Sunday's roster cutdown, and they're getting paid to do it.

New York traded guard Josh Ezeudu to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2028 seventh-round pick, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and NFL insider Jordan Schultz. It's the second offensive lineman the Giants have moved for draft capital in a week. They sent Daniel Faalele to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 sixth-round pick on August 19, according to ESPN.

Ezeudu, 26, was a 2022 third-round pick out of North Carolina, selected 67th overall after earning third-team All-ACC honors in 2020. His Giants career amounted to 33 games and 10 starts, splitting time at left guard and left tackle, according to Sports Illustrated. A calf injury wiped out his entire 2025 season on injured reserve.

Despite that, the Giants re-signed him to a one-year, $1.3 million deal in March, with $410,300 guaranteed, according to Pro Football Rumors. That contract is why this trade wasn't a lock. Ezeudu had reportedly been ranked as New York's 10th offensive lineman by The Athletic's Dan Duggan, meaning his roster spot depended entirely on whether the Giants kept nine or ten linemen. Trading him now saves the Giants roughly $1.17 million against the cap, at a cost of $80,000 in dead money, per Pro Football Rumors.

The timing raised eyebrows. Ezeudu missed practice this week after getting "kicked in the back of the leg" during Saturday's preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, according to the New York Post. Giants head coach Brian Daboll called him day-to-day and said before the trade that Ezeudu had shown enough flexibility this summer to play both right guard and right tackle as a backup. ESPN reported a source saying the injury was considered minor and Ezeudu should be ready for Week 1.

For Kansas City, the move addresses a real need. The Chiefs entered training camp thin on interior offensive line depth behind starting guards Trey Smith and Kingsley Suamataia, according to The Athletic's Jesse Newell. Smith had been held out of practice with a hip injury, and the Chiefs were shuffling backup tackle candidates Jaylon Moore and undrafted rookie Kahlil Benson into guard reps during drills, an indication coaches saw them as better fits inside than roster veterans Mike Caliendo and Hunter Nourzad. ESPN noted the Chiefs didn't draft a single offensive lineman this year despite holding nine picks, after trading All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams for a package that included those selections.

Ezeudu now joins a Chiefs depth chart that also includes Pete Nygra and C.J. Hanson, according to Pro Football Rumors.

What stands out is how the Giants are managing their roster. Daboll, addressing reporters after the Faalele trade, said adding future draft picks is "a valuable thing" even when the return looks small in the moment. "Doesn't seem like much now, but it'll matter Day 3 of the draft," he said, according to The Athletic. Asked if more trades could follow, he added: "If we could, we'd do it as much as we possibly could."

He wasn't bluffing. Two trades, two backup offensive linemen, two Day 3 picks banked for later. Neither pick moves the needle by itself. A 2028 seventh-rounder is about as close to nothing as an asset gets in the NFL. But it beats releasing a player outright and getting zero in return, which is what would have happened to Ezeudu had he not survived final cuts.

Kansas City plays in the AFC, so New York isn't handing a useful backup to a team it will face regularly. That's a low-risk landing spot for a player who wasn't going to see the field much in New York anyway.

The moves also clarify the outlook for Evan Neal, the former first-round pick who had been mentioned in trade rumors. With both Faalele and Ezeudu now gone, Neal looks safe as a roster piece heading into the season, since the Giants have thinned their depth rather than adding competition at his spot. New York's remaining backup options are Aaron Stinnie, Jake Kubas, and either Lucas Patrick or Bryan Hudson at center.

The Giants open their regular season on September 13 against the Dallas Cowboys. Whether Ezeudu's minor leg injury clears in time for him to suit up for Kansas City in Week 1, and whether the Chiefs' remade interior line holds up better than it did during last season's injury-plagued stretch, are the next things worth tracking for both franchises.