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Jordan Raanan
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Everything is on the line these next few months for New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen. There is little wiggle room in free agency for any missteps.
It’s Year 4 and the roster Schoen has assembled, to date, hasn’t been good enough. Even owner John Mara conceded that back in January when he decided to retain Schoen and coach Brian Daboll despite a 3-14 record during the franchise’s celebratory centennial season.
“I’m not sure I am all that confident that [the roster is] that much better,” Mara said while announcing the organization would plow forward without any significant changes at the top.
Fortunately for Schoen and Daboll their roster moves during the 2024 offseason had enough hits for Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch to think this grounded ship was headed in the right direction. Conveniently Mara mentioned the hits and left out running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney becoming All-Pros with the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Still, it’s imperative that Schoen and Daboll keep that perceived momentum going.
The Giants have almost $50 million under the salary cap to work with this offseason. It’s close to middle of the road in terms of available money, but it’s enough for the team to make some significant moves. The most likely are expected to be at quarterback, right guard and cornerback when the free agent negotiating window opens at noon on Monday.
A trade is also always an option for Schoen, whose biggest moves during free agency the previous two years (for Darren Waller and Brian Burns) were this route. It’s at least something to keep in the back of the mind as next week progresses.
It all starts with the quarterback position, but that was addressed earlier in the week. Here’s what to expect from the rest of free agency:
The Giants’ top free agents:
WR Darius Slayton: He’s prioritizing a winning situation. There should be a decent market for his services, with a deal in the range of $10 million per season more than realistic. The Giants do have some interest, but a return seems unlikely if his market materializes in places such as Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Chargers.
OLB Azeez Ojulari: It doesn’t appear the Giants are looking to put much money into a third pass rusher and somebody is likely to pay for Ojulari’s pass rush ability. His 2.3% sack rate since entering the league in 2021 is the same as Burns’ during that span. Returning to New York is an outside option depending on how the market plays out.
S Jason Pinnock: There is a chance that Pinnock returns but he appears likely to test the market. He finished fourth on the team with 85 tackles last season.
RG Greg Van Roten: This is one that might have to be a wait-and-see situation depending on what else the Giants do at the position in free agency and the draft. Van Roten didn’t sign last year until the summer.
Cornerback:
The Giants need a CB1. They can’t go into next season with Deonte Banks as their top cornerback again and who knows how the draft will play out. That makes it imperative that they sign a No. 1 cornerback in free agency.
Sources at the combine indicated the Giants are expected to shop near the top end of the cornerback market. D.J. Reed is expected to have a strong market and won’t come cheap, but there is interest. Charvarius Ward and Paulson Adebo are other options the Giants are expected to consider. They at least checked in on Minnesota’s Byron Murphy II as well. New York will also look into Jaire Alexander should he shake free from Green Bay and not get traded.
Bottom line — the Giants are going to get a veteran cornerback in free agency and it will likely cost a good chunk of change.
Right guard:
Van Roten doesn’t appear to be a priority, especially with money available to the Giants after missing out on quarterback Matthew Stafford. Instead, they were inquiring about high-end free-agent guards at the combine, according to multiple sources. It makes sense.
“Guard’s a spot that’s open and we’ll talk about … is the answer somebody on the roster or do we need to look outside for that?” Schoen said last week. “And then once we have that decision in place, then we’ll make a decision on who’s here and where they’re going to play.”
The expectation is that Evan Neal will be moved to guard at some point this offseason. But that still is not likely to stop the Giants from addressing the right guard position with a proven veteran. San Francisco’s Aaron Banks is considered by most to be the top option, but he seems likely to be out of the Giants’ price range. The next tier (around $10 million per season) are Will Fries, Patrick Mekari and Brandon Scherff. Mekari is a name to watch.
That would give the Giants an offensive line of four proven veterans — Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor at tackle, Jon Runyan and Fries, Mekari or Scherff at guard with John Michael-Schmitz Jr. at center. Not a terrible offensive line.
Defensive line:
Depth, depth and more depth. The Giants have to find a way to stop the run better after two straight seasons of struggles. This is why it seems unlikely Rakeem Nunez-Roches gets released to save $3.6 million. It will cost the same amount to find an equitable replacement.
Instead, the most likely solution is the Giants add similar rotational linemen rather than more expensive options, even though they are monitoring what happens with Washington’s Jonathan Allen, who could get traded or released. Players such as Teair Tart, James Lynch, DeMarcus Walker and Poona Ford are on the radar.
Safety:
The Giants have last year’s second-round pick Tyler Nubin and Dane Belton on their rookie contracts. They seem to want to add a mid-range veteran to the mix who can possibly start. Some options in addition to Pinnock include Andre Cisco, Talanoa Hufanga and Will Harris. Safety doesn’t seem to be the top priority, but it will be addressed.
Source: www.espn.com