Giants Notes: Collins, Foles, Manning

All signs have been pointing to the Giants using the franchise tag on Landon Collins, but that’s far from a done deal, according to GM Dave Gettleman (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY). The Giants are “still evaluating” whether to use the tag on the safety, so it’s a situation to monitor between now and the March 5 deadline.

“These decisions aren’t made in a vacuum,” said Gettleman when asked about the safety who is less-than-pleased with the notion of the tag. “So many things come into play.”

Collins may or may not have cleaned out his locker earlier this month, but the 25-year-old has already made it clear he doesn’t want to be cuffed by a one-year, $11.2MM tender.

“So let’s go to the conversation of eliminating distractions,” he said. “You tag a guy. He’s mad. And that’s all you guys are going to write about. For six months it’s what it’s going to be. So I have to say to myself, ‘Is it worth it?‘”

While Gettleman mulls that question, here’s more on the G-Men:

• Giants head coach Pat Shurmur is on board with bringing quarterback Eli Manning back for another season, but Gettleman says he’s also focused on the future of the position (link via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com). That could mean drafting a rookie to sit behind Manning (like the Chiefs did with Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes), but the Giants aren’t ruling out a veteran signing either. In theory, that could put them in play for Nick Foles, which may alter the team’s approach to Manning. “I can’t say that,” Gettleman said, when asked if it was safe to say the Giants are not shopping for a veteran. “You don’t know what can happen. We’re evaluating everything and we just have to keep moving forward.”
• We recently learned that the Buccaneers offered a third-round pick for Collins in 2018, but the Giants turned down their midseason proposal.
• There has been a lot of talk about an Odell Beckham Jr. trade, but Gettleman does not sound intent on trading the wide receiver.