What will happen in the coming weeks will indicate more about what the Giants really think about their offensive line than any comments made before the free NFL agency started.
So far in this off-season, they have ruled out Kevin Zeitler, his right-hand guard for the past two seasons, to earn $ 12 million at a much-needed salary limit and negotiated the contract for Nate Solder, his former starting left tackle, to earn even more cap room. Exactly how much has not been revealed, but it is expected to be much, well below the $ 16.5 million limit that Solder was scheduled for 2021.
On Monday, teams can start conversations with unrestricted free agents, the so-called legal adulteration period. No deal can be made official until Wednesday, which is the start of the league’s new year, but many deals will be agreed and leaked before the official signing period opens.
The Giants can, of course, forgo paying a lot of money, or even moderate money, at a free agency and wait until the NFL draft in late April to strengthen the depth and perhaps add a starting player to their offensive line. Is it a smart course of action? With Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates and possibly Matt Peart, the Giants already have enough youth along their line and adding a newbie would only lower the level of experience.
“We all want things to happen quickly,” said general manager Dave Gettleman. “For what it’s worth, in terms of where our offensive line is, they are young and talented. Things take time. We believe in these guys, they all came, we ended the season very strong. One of the things I would say to you is that we were 4-2 in our division and if you look at our division, all the defensive lines that we play, all of these fronts are big, powerful, athletic defensive lines and our guys insured. So, we’re getting there. It’s the old saying, you have to run the ball and obviously be able to protect the passer. We are young and we are improving. ”
The Giants were only about $ 4 million below the $ 182.5 million salary cap before the savings from Solder’s restructuring hit the books. It is unlikely that they will be able to afford the best offensive line players on the market – Trent Williams and Joe Thuney come to mind – but they may be at stake for the next tier of players. Riley Reiff has made 119 starts in the past eight years, mostly on the left tackle, and he could be an option on the right tackle. Veteran tackles Alejandro Villanueva and Kelvin Beachum are also available.
It will be interesting to see how the market treats Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, the Chiefs’ two initial tackles, both launched last week. Fisher is coming out of an Achilles tendon tear in January and Schwartz had back surgery in February. Would the Giants bet on the health of one of these players on a one-year contract?
Solder will turn 33 next month and return to compete for a job. It will not be the left opponent, where Andrew Thomas resides, the fourth choice in the 2020 draft. Solder could swing to the right tackle – a position he has not played in since his debut season in 2011 – and find himself in a competition with Peart for holder paper. Solder, who dropped out last season, could emerge as a reserve tackle at both locations. His body was able to heal after a year out of the game, but it remains to be seen how much, if anything, he lost while sitting.