With the legal tampering period come and gone and the official start to the new league year here, let us break down where your New York Football Giants currently stand and potential moves that could be on the horizon.
Current Cap Space: $18.06M
Current Needs: OL, LB, CB, WR.
Before the legal tampering period began, it was marked as a “done deal” that 26 year old All Pro OG Andrew Norwell would sign with the Giants. And for all we know it could have been. Reports have stated that the Giants offer was pretty similar to the 5 year $66.5M deal that Norwell signed to join the Jaguars. Why he chose the Jags over the Giants may never be known, but I’m sure the fact that the state of Florida has no income tax, and that the Jags were 1 quarter away from the Super Bowl, may have had a little bit of an influence on the situation. Sometimes a player just doesn’t choose your team in free agency despite all your efforts, can’t blame the front office for Norwell choosing somewhere else.
Giants were able to pivot off plan A and move to plan B quite effectively though. It has been reported that the Giants have signed OT Nate Solder to a 4 year $62mill contract, with $34.8M guaranteed. Solder is a 30 year old LT who has protected Tom Brady’s blind side since 2012. He was a former Patriots 1st round pick in 2011 (where he started at RT his rookie year and faced the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI). Pro Football Focus had Solder rated as the 32nd best OT in 2017 – which is directly average. PFF does however, give Solder above average grades on both run blocking and pass blocking.
Solder did start out slow for the Patriots last season, giving up 3 sacks in the first 5 games of the season. Solder was going through tough times with his family and his young son that may have effected him in the early part of the season. After that first rough month though, Solder buckled down, giving up only 3 sacks the rest of the season – including playoffs (14 games). From Week 9 on, Soldier was ranked the 3rd best OT and 2nd best LT by PFF.
I personally feel this is a great move to sign Solder. Don’t listen to all the fans and media members questioning the move at a quick first glance. Solder may not be Andrew Whitworth, who was available last year, but he has been tasked with being Brady’s blind side protector for the last 6 years, helping the Pats get to the Super Bowl 3 times in that span. If Solder is good enough to protect the league MVP, he should be a massive upgrade over Ereck Flowers.
Speaking of Flowers, a move to sign Solder would now open up the rest of the OL for the Giants. Brett Jones has signed his RFA tender and is expected back as the starting Center. Solder solidifies the LT position for at least a couple years. Flowers is now able to move from LT to RT (or OG if Shurmur, Shula, and Hal Hunter feel that he’ll be best there). There is still work needed to be done, but solidifying the most important position on the OL is a great start.
It looks like the Giants currently have 3 starters on their team consisting of Solder, Jones, and Flowers. Giants also currently have OG’s John Jerry, John Greco, and Jon Halapio. At offensive tackle, they have Adam Bisnowaty and Chad Wheeler to go along with Solder and Flowers. Outside of the 3 starters, I would expect the rest to compete with draft picks and whoever else the Giants may add in free agency for a roster spot in the summer.
Reports have come in of Nate Solder’s contract. And it works out to pretty much a 2 year deal. $16M of the guaranteed $34.8M is signing bonus, which will be prorated over the course of the 4 year signed contract, or $4M guaranteed for all 4 years. The base salary of the first 2 years of the contract are fully guaranteed, at $5.9M for 2018 and $12.9M for. That works out to a $9.9M cap hit for the 2018 season and $16.9M for the 2019 season (base salary + $4M prorated signing bonus). After these first 2 years, the Giants will have paid off $26.8M of guaranteed money. If the Giants so wished, they could cut Solder after year 2 to save money. Taking in consideration the Ogletree trade and the Brett Jones tender, the Giants have roughly $18M is cap space. That brings the Giants down to $8M of available space – not much at all. We have to wait for the details on Jonathan Stewart’s deal, but a guess of around $2-3M cap hit for 2018 doesn’t seem far off at the moment. That means you’re looking at around $5-6M available in cap space left.
Don’t worry, the sky isn’t falling. There are a few options the Giants can take advantage of to free up more space. Brandon Marshall is due to make a little over $6M this year. Cutting him would net the Giants $5M in cap space after taking a $1M dead cap. Dwayne Harris is another player who could be cut and save the Giants around $3M in cap space. That’s $8M more opened up by cutting two players who have been lackluster for the Giants to say the least. The Giants can also rework Alec Ogletree’s contract. Ogletree currently has a $10M even cap hit for this season. He is due for a $7M roster bonus this Friday, March 16. If the Giants get creative, they could prorate that roster bonus and rework it from a roster bonus to a signing bonus. This would enable the Giants to take that $7M and spread it out over the remaining years of his contract. Ogletree will still get the money, it would just be a move to help the Giants currently. That could open up another $5M in cap space.
These 3 moves alone would open up roughly $13M for the Giants. Or in other words, these moves could help the Giants pay for Solder and Stewart this year and still have the Giants with roughly $18M remaining.
Possible moves on the horizon should include more LB depth, CB depth and possibly WR depth – dependent on the Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris situations. A name to look out for is former Saint and Rutgers star Brandon Coleman. If Marshall is cut, Coleman provides the height and red zone effectiveness to go on the opposite side of star WR Odell Beckham Jr. At cornerback, look for the Giants to re-sign Ross Cockrell, who had a strong season for the G-men last season. The Giants adding a player like Kareem Martin, are the type of moves I would expect for LB, CB, and WR. Experienced players who can be had on the cheap and have experience with the Giants coaches in previous locations. Martin was formerly with the Cardinals and has experience in defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s defense.
I would also still be on the lookout for another OL signing. It won’t be the flashiest of signings, so don’t get your hopes up. But maybe a guard who can come in and compete for a starting job.
Some names to consider: Jack Mewhort (Colts). Joe Berger (Vikings). Jonathan Cooper (Cowboys). DJ Fluker (Giants).
Mewhort is a guy who would be looking to break the bank if he could just stay healthy. He’s played only 15 games the last 2 years, so he may be a high- risk, high -reward signing at a discounted price.
Berger is 36 and understands Pat Shurmur’s offense having played in it last season. You wouldn’t want to sign him for more than a year. But he could be a nice piece to bring competition, leadership and veteran experience to the offensive line.
Jonathan Cooper is a former 1st round disappointment from the Cardinals. He played last season on the Cowboys with mixed reviews. He’s a powerful run blocker but weak in pass protection.
DJ Fluker is pretty much the same player as Cooper (he was actually selected 4 picks after Cooper in the same draft). Fluker is a big guy who can maul in the run game. The Giants averaged more than 35 more rushing yards per contest last season after they entered Fluker into the starting lineup. Both Cooper and Fluker I would expect on short and “cheap” deals as well.
Also on the lookout for the Giants should be DB Tyrann Matthieu. The Cardinals recently released the Honey Badger after Matthieu refused to take a pay cut. Matthieu is a premiere gadget player who can play safety, nickel corner, or even linebacker. He won’t come cheap, as he is only 25 and one of the top at his position. But coming off his 2nd major knee injury this past season, don’t be surprised if a team can pull off signing him for cheaper than the expected market value. Tyrann Matthieu has a connection with former Cardinals and current Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher, playing his last 3 years in Bettcher’s defense. He is exactly the type of player the Giants need after cutting Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
The free agency period is a time of quick takes and mayhem. Everyone is quick to judge and make opinions without all the facts. As of Wednesday morning, hours before the league year even started, you would think the sky has fallen and the Giants season was already over after signing Stewart and not signing Norwell. Now after the acquisition of Nate Solder, things are looking up now for Giants fans. The best I can say is: relax and enjoy the ride. PS…draft season is almost upon us!
