The needs are there, clear and concise. With the free NFL agency starting this week, perhaps the Giants will be able to fill these two glaring gaps in their squad.
They need a first class wide receiver. And they need a dreaded haul. Can both items be crossed off the shopping list when selecting and securing these goods on the open market?
The short answer: No.
“Well, there’s a draft, right?” Said Giants general manager Dave Gettleman. “So, you don’t necessarily need to buy both. Let’s just see how it works, see what the guys are worth and what the expense costs are, and just move on. ”
That’s the key here: Keep moving forward. The Giants may not fill either of their two main holes in the coming weeks. They don’t have much money to spend and are probably not interested in teaming through purchasing power, as a general rule.
A year ago, Gettleman and first-year coach Joe Judge had money to spend and attacked quickly – taking an expensive cornerback, James Bradberry, and a $ 10 million internal linebacker, Blake Martinez, off the market. These two signings were great successes in every way. The Giants have no wage cap space to make a similar impact this time around.
Of course, if Kenny Golladay was hired, he would immediately move on as the number one receiver. Do you have $ 20 million a year to fit him in? Shaq Barrett, if he doesn’t sign again with the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, would be the pass rusher to perfectly complement Leonard Williams’ onslaught in the countryside. These acquisitions look great, but are not feasible for a team that had to fire a proven offensive striker, goalkeeper Kevin Zeitler, to stay below the $ 182.5 million salary cap.
The Giants enter a free agency with about $ 4 million below the threshold. If they can get Williams to sign a long-term deal and significantly lower the Nate Solder limit ($ 16.5 million), they can effectively add more than $ 20 in limit space. The Giants will sign, creating more waves than splashes. It remains to be seen whether they can find the maximum limit to add even an expensive contract.
Judge comes from the Patriots’ way of doing things, where the draft was the king and the free agency was largely an accompaniment. This does not mean that he is averse to spending, if the money is there and the player is the right player.
“Look, I’m always a longtime movie guy,” said Judge. “I think you are successful in continuously building your team through the draft, developing your players, adding the right players in the free agency that not only fits you schematically, but fits your personality and culture in the locker room. I think the only thing to keep in mind when looking at 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 on TV, but the reality is that it’s not fantasy football: You you can’t just take a player, put him on your team and think that everything is going to be all right. ”
The judge is self-conscious. He knows that his approach is not for everyone. Bradberry, Martinez and later Logan Ryan were hired 100% in line with what Judge wants from veterans who join the program. He does not seem to be the type of head coach willing to take chances or to take too much, regardless of the player’s skill level.
“There are things we do here that, look, we don’t make things easy for our players and coaches, this is intentional,” said Judge. “The guys we have in this locker room bought, we had a lot of fun doing it, but we have a way of doing things. This is not for everyone, to be honest with you. ”
This year’s draft – with no combination of scouts, limited personal interaction with potential customers and getting to know you via remote access – is somewhat of an unknown frontier, with teams less familiar than ever with the players they are about to select. This is not the case for veterans in the open market, which could lead the Giants to try to hire en masse for purposes of depth in the squad.
“Uncertainty does not really affect the unrestricted free agency,” said Gettleman. “These are the players in the league, watching them is not the problem. ”
It is difficult to predict the Giants in a big race on their own free agent, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who as a premier run-stuffer is expected to raise more than $ 12 million a year. That would be a loss, accentuating the need for gains elsewhere.