[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
It’s no secret that the New York Giants want defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to return in 2021, but their top priority entering the offseason was to keep Leonard Williams in East Rutherford.
That created a potential problem for both the Giants and Tomlinson with so little salary cap space available, but it sounds as if general manager Dave Gettleman & Co. are trying to work through it.
While appearing on the Giants Huddle podcast earlier this week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport implied the Giants also view Tomlinson as a top priority and will do everything they can to re-sign him.
“It sounds like he is a priority [for the Giants],” Rapoport said. “Now I know he’s going to be coveted. If you’re a team like the Giants, you draft well enough where a mid-rounder becomes a really coveted free agent, that’s someone you’d like to keep. I think for Dalvin Tomlinson, the interesting thing for the Giants is not that he’s a very good player, he is a very good player, but he’s also a leader. You rarely have leaders on the defensive line. It just doesn’t always happen that way…
“His value is great on the free agent market. It might be greater with the Giants because of how he leads the team and how the players interact with him. He’s important. I don’t know if they’ll be able to keep him, but he is very important to this team.”
As Rapoport notes, Tomlinson brings added value to the Giants as a team captain, locker room leader, NFLPA representative and 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.
But others teams see that, too. And as a result, Tomlinson is likely to be on the receiving end of several massive contract offers should he hit the open market, so if the Giants are determined to bring him back in 2021, they’re going to have to act fast.
[vertical-gallery id=665312]