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At this time of year, most of the wheeling and dealing across the NFL has concluded as teams prepare to return for the official start to training camp, but that doesn’t entirely eliminate the possibility of a little tinkering.

In examining the roster of the New York Giants, many still believe they have issues on the edge, lacking enough true pass rushers to improve upon their second-to-last sack total from a season ago, leaving them with a lingering weakness that will wreak havoc come the regular season.

Robert Mays of The Ringer believes that one potential solution is linebacker Whitney Mercilus of the Houston Texans.

Whitney Mercilus, OLB, Texans

Mercilus missed most of the 2017 season with a torn pectoral muscle and was slowed during the early part of last season by a lingering hamstring issue. From Week 9 on, though, he tallied 27 disrupted dropbacks (according to Pro Football Focus) and was among the most effective pass rushers in the league on a per-snap basis. Even in the back half of his career, Mercilus is a versatile piece who’s just as comfortable rushing on the interior as the edge—and he’ll make only $5.8 million in 2019, the final year of his deal.

The soon-to-be 29-year-old pass rusher is a holdover from Rick Smith’s time as general manager, and he arrived in Houston before head coach Bill O’Brien’s tenure began. The Texans will likely prioritize bringing Jadeveon Clowney (who’s currently on the franchise tag) back on a long-term deal next spring, and with Clowney and J.J. Watt on the roster, the Texans are loaded with pass rushers. Rather than watch Mercilus walk in free agency next year, O’Brien and the team’s makeshift front office could look to recoup some value from one of the league’s many pass-rush-needy teams.

Possible landing spot: Giants. After dealing Olivier Vernon to the Browns earlier this offseason, the Giants are desperate for pass-rushing help. Mercilus fits the outside linebacker role in defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s scheme, and he’d represent a massive improvement on New York’s current edge-rushing options.

While it makes some sense from the Houston standpoint to get whatever they can for Mercilus before he becomes a free agent they are unlikely to re-sign, there are some financial aspects that would make such a trade cumbersome for the Giants.

The Giants and general manager Dave Gettleman have roughly $10.3 million in cap space remaining ahead of the 2019 season, but a substantial chunk of that will still be eaten up when first-round pick Daniel Jones signs his rookie deal. Additionally, the team still has to sign rookie linebacker Oshane Ximines, which will take another portion of that remaining space.

In the final year of his deal, Mercilus is scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.75 million with a total cap hit of $7.3 million, which isn’t terrible when it comes to a quality pass rusher who is healthy (which would be another key here), but that cost may be too steep for the Giants.

Mercilus would be unlikely to accept a pay cut, so that would leave the Giants scrambling to find salary cap space elsewhere — and precious few of those options remain as the team works to shed its remaining large contracts after this season.

Mercilus to the Giants is a fun thought and will certainly stir up some conversations — especially when some outlets report this speculation as some sort of fact — but unless something substantial was to happen in order to clear cap space, any such trade is little more than pre-camp speculation.