Patricia Traina#84 of 87 NFL pundits · Aug 24, 2026
Traina writes that the Giants may make more trades before the roster cutdown and names the players they see as the most likely candidates to be dealt: kicker Ben Sauls, one of receivers Darius Slayton or Darnell Mooney, offensive lineman Jake Kubas, and linebacker Darius Muasau.
Published in writing · Sports IllustratedRead the original
What Patricia Traina said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromAmong the leading possibilities for a trade are kicker Ben Sauls, one of receiver Darius Slayton or Darnell Mooney, and perhaps an offensive lineman like center/guard Jake Kubas and inside linebacker Darius Muasau.
- Where it was published
- Sports Illustrated
- The piece
- Giants Aren't Done Exploring Making Trades
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidAug 24
- GradedOct 16–Nov 3
- 1Jake Kubas to move — “perhaps traded”“perhaps an offensive lineman like center/guard Jake Kubas”
- 2Darius Slayton to move — “one of Slayton or Mooney traded”“one of receiver Darius Slayton or Darnell Mooney”
- 3Ben Sauls to move — “among the leading possibilities for a trade”“Among the leading possibilities for a trade are kicker Ben Sauls”
- 4Darius Muasau to move — “perhaps traded”“and inside linebacker Darius Muasau”
- 5Darnell Mooney to move — “one of Slayton or Mooney traded”“one of receiver Darius Slayton or Darnell Mooney”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Kubas to move — “perhaps traded”1 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Darius Slayton to move — “one of Slayton or Mooney traded”2 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ben Sauls to move — “among the leading possibilities for a trade”3 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Darius Muasau to move — “perhaps traded”4 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Darnell Mooney to move — “one of Slayton or Mooney traded”5 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 5 calls · 2 misses · 3 waiting | 0 | 0 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive5 checkable claims — 5 trade and signing calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
2 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Trade and Signing CallsJake Kubas
Jake Kubas to move — “perhaps traded”
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×2difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Jake Kubas
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he leaves
- was with:
- NYG
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- reported:
- released (from NE)
- how he left:
- released
- mechanism:
- traded
- settled by:
- a confirmed report from the crawl (reported outcomes)
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he stays where he is
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
2Trade and Signing CallsDarius Slayton
Darius Slayton to move — “one of Slayton or Mooney traded”
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×2difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Darius Slayton
- season:
- 2026
- claimed:
- he leaves
- was with:
- NYG
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- reported:
- released (from IND); signed → IND (from NYG)
- how he left:
- released
- mechanism:
- traded
- settled by:
- a confirmed report from the crawl (reported outcomes)
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- he stays where he is
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
3Trade and Signing CallsBen Sauls
Ben Sauls to move — “among the leading possibilities for a trade”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
4Trade and Signing CallsDarius Muasau
Darius Muasau to move — “perhaps traded”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
5Trade and Signing CallsDarnell Mooney
Darnell Mooney to move — “one of Slayton or Mooney traded”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 2 settled calls, each counted once
0naive 0
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Bryan DeArdo · Trade and Signing Calls · Darius Slayton · Hit 100
A CBS Sports piece on the Giants releasing Darius Slayton predicts they will be signed by another NFL team fairly quickly, and lists possible landing spots without committing to one.Chris Rose · Trade and Signing Calls · Darius Slayton · Miss 0
Hosting a mock free-agency draft, Rose predicted destinations for Nick Bolton, Carlton Davis, Russell Wilson, Malcolm Koonce, Stefon Diggs, Byron Murphy, Chase Young and Jacoby Brissett, plus Justin Fields returning to Pittsburgh, Ronnie Stanley leaving Baltimore, and the Browns trading up to No. 1 to take Cam Ward.Justin Penik · Trade and Signing Calls · Darius Slayton · Miss 0
Pennock predicted Sam Darnold to Pittsburgh, Zach Baun re-signing in Philadelphia, Charvarius Ward and Jamien Sherwood to Washington, Cam Robinson to Chicago as left tackle, Cam Bynum to the Jets, Darius Slayton to the Chargers, Aaron Jones back to Minnesota and Aaron Rodgers to the Giants.Bobby Skinner · Trade and Signing Calls · Darius Slayton · Miss 0
Skinner predicted Daniel Jones signs with and wins the starting job in Indianapolis, Milton Williams to New England, Lavonte David back to Tampa, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to the Giants, DJ Reid to Arizona, Hassan Reddick to Washington and Justin Fields staying in Pittsburgh, plus alternates they had listed.Joe Dolan · Sleeper Calls · Darnell Mooney · Miss 0
Dolan sees no fantasy value in Darren Waller's return with Miami (projecting them as roughly TE33), but loves Devon Achane's passing-game upside with Jonnu Smith gone, Rashee Rice as a discounted target hog who leads the Chiefs in targets, Kenneth Walker as a bell-cow at a cheap price, Jordan Addison as badly underpriced, Darnell Mooney as too cheap, Isaiah Likely as a late-round breakout, and Devaughn Vele as the Broncos' starting slot man.Chris Welsh · Sleeper Calls · Darnell Mooney · Miss 0
The host endorses Darnell Mooney as a clear value, saying they'll deliver WR3-caliber production while being drafted as a WR5.
More trade and signing calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Nate Gosney · Trade and Signing Calls · Daiyan Henley · Miss 0
After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season.Logan Lazarczyk · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick.Michael David Smith · Trade and Signing Calls · Keenan Allen · Hit 100
Smith suggests the Colts are likely to grant Josh Downs' trade request given their contract situation and their recent sell-off, and that they could also try to trade Keenan Allen.Noah Compton · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Compton expects the rebuilding Colts to keep dealing veterans before the November 10 deadline, naming Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs and Grover Stewart as the likeliest remaining trade candidates, and believes Indianapolis should and likely will move on from quarterback Daniel Jones, while Shane Steichen keeps starting Jones in the meantime.