The New York Giants are listening to offers on Kayvon Thibodeaux, and the market is heating up.
With Abdul Carter entrenched as the future alongside Brian Burns, the 2022 fifth overall pick has become expendable. One year remains on his $14.75 million fifth-year option, no extension is coming, and the asking price is reportedly a fourth-round pick.
The window to sell high is closing fast.
Multiple teams have reportedly inquired on acquiring Thibodeaux ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Here are the top five landing spots for the former top-5 pick.
1. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are the most natural fit on this list, and the conversation connecting them to Thibodeaux has only grown louder in recent weeks.
Green Bay gutted their edge depth this offseason, trading Rashan Gary to the Cowboys and losing Kingsley Enagbare to the Jets, at the worst possible moment. Micah Parsons is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 15, and when he returns, the Packers need someone capable of commanding genuine attention on the other side. A credible bookend makes Parsons harder to scheme against. A warm body does not.
New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon brings the kind of versatile, multiple-front system that rewards athletes over technicians, and whatever Thibodeaux’s flaws, athleticism has never been the issue. Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton put it plainly: lining up across from an elite pass rusher in a scheme built for his traits is precisely the situation most likely to unlock what Green Bay would be paying for. Two Day 2 picks, clear need, and low downside risk if it doesn’t work out. The Packers should make this call.
2. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo’s pass rush was a liability when it mattered most, cratering to just 28% pressure rate in their divisional-round loss to the Broncos. They lost AJ Epenesa in free agency and have no proven answer at the position heading into 2026.
For a team operating with genuine Super Bowl ambitions under new head coach Joe Brady, that’s not going to cut it.
A third-round pick may be required to get a deal done, which is slightly above the reported asking price, but the math is straightforward. Buffalo’s playoff ceiling is capped by its inability to generate pressure, and no amount of offensive firepower covers for a pass rush that goes quiet in January.
Thibodeaux, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, will be motivated to perform well and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has a reputation for getting the most out of his players. If Leonhard can unlock Thibodeaux’s potential, he becomes the Bills’ closer in the playoffs, bringing Buffalo one step closer to an elusive Super Bowl ring.
On the other hand, the cost of inaction is another early exit in the NFL Playoffs.
3. New Orleans Saints
The Saints are a more compelling destination than most are giving them credit for.
New Orleans needs edge rush help and doesn’t want to burn a first-round pick to get it. A trade for Thibodeaux solves both problems cleanly.
What makes this worth watching is new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
He built his reputation running aggressive, multiple-heavy fronts, and his best defenses have always featured a versatile edge presence who can both set the edge and win as a pure pass rusher.
Thibodeaux’s blend of size and burst fits that profile better than most names available in this draft class, especially on Day 2 or later. At 25 and playing for his next contract, he brings the type of urgency the Saints can put to use.
If New Orleans can pull off a deal, it could be the quietest steal of the offseason.
4. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers may be the single most equipped team to get a deal done, financially, schematically, and personally.
Los Angeles watched Odafe Oweh walk in free agency and now has a glaring void opposite Tuli Tuipulotu. Khalil Mack was re-signed but is deep into his thirties, making him more of a rotational piece at this stage, not a solution.
Sportsnaut’s Matt Johnson projected a specific package: Thibodeaux to LA for linebacker Denzel Perryman and a fourth-round pick, a deal that gives New York cap relief and a mid-round selection while Los Angeles lands a 25-year-old with starter upside.
With over $80 million in projected cap space, the Chargers don’t need the Giants to eat a dollar of the contract and can afford a future extension. And then there’s the detail nobody is ignoring: John Harbaugh coaches the Giants, Jim Harbaugh coaches the Chargers.
A relationship already exists. These calls are easier to make when you grew up in the same house.
5. Chicago Bears
Chicago won the NFC North in 2025 and has a legitimate title push brewing under Ben Johnson, but their pass rush was among the worst in football, and opponents will scheme for it in 2026.
Pairing Thibodeaux with Montez Sweat gives the Bears a genuine edge tandem, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s pressure-heavy system has consistently elevated players who arrived with question marks.
Chicago has been at the center of rumors for Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson, so it’s clear the Bears are in the market for a pass rusher. Thibodeaux solves that problem and would only cost a mid-round pick, which is a cheap price for a player who could still blossom into a Pro Bowl-caliber player.
Allen’s scheme creates favorable matchups; Sweat commands the attention that opens them. Drop a driven, talented edge rusher into that environment, and the results tend to follow. For a Bears team that has earned the right to bet on itself, this is exactly the kind of move contenders make.
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