The New York Giants, like every other NFL team at the moment, are gearing up for the offseason — who to cut, who to sign, who to draft are the key questions going into free agency, which begins on March 18.
Pro Football Focus has given a short preview as to what we might expect out general manager Dave Gettleman and Big Blue in the coming months.
NEW YORK GIANTS: Projected cap space: $61.9 million
Players to target: EDGE Shaquil Barrett, CB Trae Waynes, CB Chris Harris Jr.
Soon-to-be unrestricted free agents: DI Leonard Williams, LB David Mayo, WR Cody Latimer, T Mike Remmers, S Michael Thomas, EDGE Markus Golden
Potential cuts: LB Alec Ogletree (saves $8.2 million in 2020), TE Rhett Ellison (saves $5 million in 2020), EDGE Kareem Martin (saves $4.8 million in 2020), C Spencer Pulley (saves $2.7 million in 2020)
None of the Giants’ impending free agents were key pieces to the team in 2019. They kind of put themselves in a bad spot with Leonard Williams, as they traded a third-round and fifth-round pick for him midseason and now have to pay a projected price of five years, $75 million with $43 million guaranteed. That’s the ninth largest contract for a non-quarterback this free agency, and he’s not even among the 20 best non-quarterback free agents, as he has failed to crack the top 25 in grade in each of his last three seasons. With a handful of cuts, New York can grow its cap situation and significantly improve its pass-rush and secondary, which ranked 26th and 30th in team grade, respectively. Shaq Barrett had the fourth most pressures last season, but again, they have to be careful not to overpay him.
The Giants will put a full court press on two of their own free agents — Williams and Golden. Williams for obvious reasons (face-saving) and Golden because they need him. I can also see the Giants also seeking to retain Mayo and Thomas, maybe even Remmers, but later on in the spring.
The Giants probably aren’t getting Barrett, who has stated he’d like to stay in Tampa or play in a state that won’t tax him “crazy.”
I don’t know why the Giants would want to sign Waynes or Harris in free agency after bulking up their cornerback group with young ‘studs’ last year. All that tells us is that they aren’t confident that DeAndre Baker, Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine and Julian Love can get the job done. Still, if they can get one of them at a bargain, it would be worth it. Don’t count on it though.
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