The New Orleans Saints gave a second-round and a fifth-round pick to the Giants on Monday for tight end Jeremy Shockey.  But the draft-pick investment that the Saints made doesn’t mean that a financial investment will follow.

As we hear it, the Saints won’t be giving Shockey a new contract.  As we also hear it, Shockey’s desire to get out of New York arose primarily from his desire to get a new deal.

Shockey is signed through 2011.  He’s due to earn a base salary of $1.925 million in 2008.  The pay jumps to $3.025 million in 2009, $3.825 million in 2010, and $4.508 million in 2011.

We’re also told that the Giants pulled the trigger on the trade primarily because they didn’t want to deal with Shockey any longer. 

When the Giants didn’t trade Shockey prior to or during the draft, the thinking was that the Giants had opted to keep him at $1.925 million for the present season, and to pair him with Kevin Boss.  Apparently, a blowup with G.M. Jerry Reese during last month’s mandatory minicamp was enough to get the team to decide to move on. 

Without Shockey, the Giants are thin at the position.  Sure, they’ve got four tight ends behind Boss.  But, between them, they have six career receptions.  One of them, Jerome Collins, owns two Super Bowls rings but not a single NFL catch.

So, if Kevin Boss goes down, the Giants will have a serious problem at tight end.  Unless rookie Eric Butler instantly can become what Boss became last year, after Jeremy Shockey busted a leg.