The needs are there, clear and concise. With the NFL-free agency kicking off this week, the Giants may be able to fill these two glaring gaps in their roster.
They need a premium wide receiver. And they need a dreaded edge rusher. Can both items be removed from the shopping list by selecting them and securing them on the open market?
The short answer: no.
“Well, there is a draft, right?” Giants General Manager Dave Gettleman said. “You don’t necessarily have to buy them both. We’re just going to see how it turns out, see what guys are worth and what the expenses are, and just keep going. ”
That’s the key here: keep moving forward. The Giants may not be filling any of their two big gaps for the next several weeks. They don’t have a lot of money to spend and are generally not interested in purchasing power team building.
A year ago, Gettleman and freshman head coach Joe Judge ran out of money and hit quickly – snatching off the market an expensive cornerback, James Bradberry, and a $ 10 million a year linebacker, Blake Martinez. Those two signings were great hits in every way. The Giants don’t have the salary cap this time around to have a similar impact.
Of course, if Kenny Golladay were signed, he would immediately withdraw as the No. 1 recipient. Do you have $ 20 million a year to fit it in? Shaq Barrett, if not re-signing with Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, would be the pass rusher to perfectly complement Leonard Williams’ push into the interior. These sound great, but aren’t viable acquisitions for a team that had to cut off a proven offensive lineman, security guard Kevin Zeitler, to get below the $ 182.5 million salary cap.
The Giants go to a free agency for about $ 4 million under the limit. If they can get Williams to sign a long-term deal and slash Nate Solder’s unwieldy ($ 16.5 million) cap number, they can effectively add more than $ 20 in cap space. The Giants will sign, creating more ripples than splashes. It remains to be seen if they can find the cap space to add even one big contract.
Judge stems from the patriots’ demeanor, where drawing was king and free agency was largely an accompaniment. This does not mean that he is detrimental to spending, if the money is there and the player fits just right.
“See, I’m always a long-term photo boy,” Judge said. “I think you can succeed by continuously building your team through design, by developing your players, by adding the right players in free agency who not only fit you schematically, but also your personality and personality. culture in the locker room. I think the only thing to keep in mind as we go through this free agency point of the year, and look, it’s very exciting, and there’s a lot of press and media and it’s all over TV, but the reality is it’s no fantasy is football: You can’t just grab a player, put him on your team and think everything will be okay. ”
Judge is self-aware. He knows that his approach is not for everyone. Bradberry, Martinez, and later Logan Ryan were 100 percent in line with what Judge wants from veterans participating in the program. He doesn’t seem to be the type of head coach willing to take big leaps of faith or take big risks, regardless of the player’s skill level.
“There are things we’re doing here that, look, we’re not making things easy for our players and coaches, that’s by design,” said Judge. “The guys we have in this locker room bought it, we have a lot of fun with this, but we have a way of doing things. That’s not for everyone, to be honest. ”
This year’s concept – with no scouting combination, limited in-person interaction with potential clients, and getting to know you through remote access – is in a sense an unexplored frontier, with teams less familiar than ever with the players they will be selecting. This is not the case with open market veterans, which could prompt the Giants to log in en masse for in-depth roster purposes.
“The uncertainty really doesn’t play a role in unrestricted freedom of choice,” said Gettleman. “Those are players who are in the league, scouting is not the problem.”
It’s hard to envision that the Giants will make a big run on their own free agent, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who as a premier run-stuffer will likely command more than $ 12 million a year. This would be a loss and reinforce the need for gains elsewhere.