The offensive line is young, says the general manager.
“And they are talented, and things take time,” Giants GM Dave Gettleman said Tuesday.
Well, the Giants’ line of attack isn’t quite as young as Kevin Zeitler, who turned 31 Monday, returns to start the Judge Guard and Nate Solder, who turns 33 next month, returns to play one of the tackle points after he has opted out for the 2020 season.
So maybe Zeitler and Solder are not part of this season’s plan.
“I’m not suggesting that at all,” said Gettleman.
The offensive line’s status is tied to Gettleman like a smartphone to a teenager. He promised to fix it when he was hired in December 2017. Progress has been made and improvements are clear. Made? Not really. Not quite yet.
Gettleman labeled his line of attack as young because, he explained, “ when your center and your left guard and your left tackle are rookies, you are actually young. This was the case in 2020, when the starting left tackle, Andrew Thomas, was a rookie, the starting center, Nick Gates, was an inexperienced third-year player working center for the first time and the left guard, Shane Lemieux, was a rookie who got into the starting line-up at the expense of Will Hernandez. , who was essentially in the bench in the second half of the season.
The Giants grow younger on the leash when Matt Peart moves in. the offensive snaps, often filling in for a run or two for veteran Cam Fleming at the right tackle.
Gettleman said “I am, yes” when asked if he would be comfortable with Thomas and Peart, a pair of sophomores, as the starting tackles this season.
“When [Peart] played, he played fine, he played damn well, ” said Gettleman. “At some point you have to let the young children play.”
This could be an ominous situation for Solder. He has survived cancer and his young son is undergoing cancer treatment, so he chose to forgo in 2020 rather than play amid a global pandemic and COVID-19 concerns. Solder is slated to add $ 16.5 million to the salary ceiling. Releasing him would save the Giants $ 6 million, but it would also cost $ 10.5 million in dead money.
The Giants do not yet know whether Solder wants to continue his career. What seems certain is that it won’t be on the roster at its current price tag.
“Look, I’m not going to speak on behalf of Nate,” said head coach Joe Judge. “I talked to Nate and to be honest most of our conversations have nothing to do with football. I’ve talked a lot with Nate since the end of the season, I just checked with him how it went a year, how his family is doing, how his son is doing and how he is personally. Had a lot of conversations, talked some football. … There are also other parts of our building that are talking to Nate. When it’s time to tackle all of that, we’ll know. These things don’t all happen in one day and we’ll see where everything is going. ”
Zeitler is a tough pro who rarely misses a moment, but hasn’t been selected for a Pro Bowl in his nine-year career. He is the most consistent offensive lineman on the team and is expected to charge $ 14.5 million on the salary cap. Releasing him, which could happen, would save the Giants $ 12 million.
One way to soften Zeitler’s cap hit is to renew his contract and give him a pro rata bonus money to lower his limit for 2021. It doesn’t sound like Gettleman believes this is a smart approach for any player.
“The goal to best manage the limit is to get permanent contracts,” Gettleman said. “If a guy has a three-year deal for $ 45 million, you’d want a cap of $ 15 million every year, that’s the goal. Once you start restructuring and renegotiating, you usually load them at the back. is kicking lightning It depends on how much pain you want to treat Some teams just philosophically say they’re restructuring and some people aren’t It’s a philosophical conversation, but it’s not a good place to constantly restructure and renegotiate. ”