John Harbaugh spent his first offseason as Giants head coach adding pieces, and Daniel Faalele was one of them, signing him to a one-year deal in early April. That commitment didn’t last the summer, as the Giants traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 19. At long last, the Giants head coach might have finally realized his mistake.

“Harbaugh kept his a– in the starting lineup the whole last year and getting Lamar chased all around the field,” Shannon Sharpe said on Nightcap. “After one sack, he traded. So you mean to tell me you’re going to trade him after one sack on Jackson Dart? … He started like 30-something games for the Ravens!”

“He bad. I don’t know why they were playing bad. I just know he bad. … You can’t be out there like a blind dog in a meat house. Like, ‘Which one I got? Who did I get? Which way did he go? Which way did he go?’ I mean, he bad!”

Faalele spent his first four NFL seasons under John Harbaugh in Baltimore, starting 35 games there, 34 of them recorded in the last two years alone. He was rarely up to the mark, allowing four sacks and 30 pressures last year. Ravens fans were actually happy when he followed Harbaugh to New York, especially after watching him play in the preseason opener vs the Vikings.

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Late in the third quarter, he whiffed on a block in a way that felt all too familiar: slow off the snap, footwork out of sync. That mistake turned into a sack, and his run blocking wasn’t much sharper either, more about surviving contact than actually winning it. He registered an overall PFF grade of 40.2, allowing one hurry and one pressure. At Baltimore last year, his grade was only 57.2, one of the lowest in the offense.

The timing makes the move feel even more like a change of heart. Harbaugh only signed Faalele to a one-year deal back in early April, right before the Giants used the 10th overall pick on Francis Mauigoa, their guard of the future. Jon Runyan holds down the other guard spot, so the writing may have already been on the wall.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan thinks there might be more to the story than just needing a body off the roster. He noticed something telling at Thursday’s joint practice.

“Thought it was extremely notable that next in line behind Francis Mauigoa at Thursday’s joint practice was Josh Ezeudu. He took first-team reps at right guard the rest of practice. Perhaps the trade of Daniel Faalele was because the Giants like what they’ve seen from Ezeudu?

As for who fills the gap now, Aaron Stinnie looks like the top backup option, while Evan Neal, a veteran, still has a real chance to earn a roster spot this summer.