Lorenzo Carter Not Returning To Giants
It appears Lorenzo Carter will need to find a new home in the NFL. The pass rusher indicated in an Instagram post that the Giants will not be re-signing him. 
The 26-year-old was drafted by New York in the third round in 2018. He posted four sacks in his rookie campaign, and has taken on a larger role in each of the three seasons since. Carter started all but three of the 34 games he played in from 2019 to 2021.
“It’s hard for me to even put in words how blessed I am to have been a part of the New York Football Giants family these past four years”, he wrote, adding, “I’m thankful for everyone that played their part in making my time with the organization so special… as I move on to my next chapter, I’ll never forget the Big Blue“.
The former third round pick has been a consistent contributor during his time in the Big Apple. With the exception of 2020 (in which he only suited up for five contests due to a torn Achilles), Carter totalled between 43 and 50 tackles and either 4.0, 4.5 or 5.0 sacks each year. His career-high totals in both categories in 2021 showed his ability to bounce-back from the serious injury.
Even with Carter, the Giants ranked 24th in the league in sacks last year. Without him, they will likely lean more on the likes of Azeez Ojulari, Elerson Smith and Quincy Roche, each of whom were drafted in 2021. Carter, meanwhile, will join an edge rusher market which has lost almost all of its marquee names, with the notable exception of Za’Darius Smith.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/22
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-Signed: LB Ezekiel Turner
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Marquel Lee
Dallas Cowboys
- Re-Signed: LB Luke Gifford
Denver Broncos
- Re-Signed: DL DeShawn Williams
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: RB Ameer Abdullah
Miami Dolphins
- Re-Signed: TE Durham Smythe
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Jamil Douglas
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: KR/PR Gunner Olszewski
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-Signed: OL Kyle Fuller
Giants To Cut Logan Ryan
The Giants are releasing defensive back Logan Ryan (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Giants will not classify this as a post-June 1 designation, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic (on Twitter), which means they’ll absorb the full dead money hit in 2022. 
[RELATED: Latest On Giants’ Bradberry]
Ryan, 31, first joined the Giants on a one-year, $7.5MM deal. Towards the end of the 2020 season, the Giants re-upped him on a three-year, $31MM extension. That deal has now been cut short — instead of making $9.25MM with the G-Men this year, Ryan is back on the market.
Last year, Ryan logged 117 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a pair of forced fumbles, and eight passes defensed across 15 games. While he’s still productive, he’ll likely have to settle for a lesser deal elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Giants’ new regime still has to figure out what to do with James Bradberry. Teams have made trade inquiries on Dave Gettleman‘s high-priced addition, but the offers have been underwhelming so far. The Giants could keep Bradberry, table trade talks until sometime after the draft, or just release him outright. Cutting Bradberry would save the team upwards of $10MM in 2022.
Latest On Giants’ James Bradberry
New Giants general manager Joe Schoen made it clear at the start of the offseason that he intended to shed a significant amount of salary. While he has been able to do just that through a number of moves which were expected to be made, one of the biggest questions on the team centers on cornerback James Bradberry. 
[RELATED: Giants Discussing Barkley, Bradberry Trades]
Many felt that the team would trade or release the 28-year-old before the new league year started Wednesday afternoon. Instead, as SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reports, New York may now hold onto him until after the Draft at the end of April.
The team has been fielding trade calls on the former second rounder, which still means he could be moved at any point. As Vacchiano notes, however, his market hasn’t been strong up to this point, since teams are aware of the cap savings the Giants would generate (just over $10.1MM) if they released him. Bradberry is due $13.4MM in salary this season – $2MM of which became guaranteed when the new league year began – but carries a cap hit of over $21.8MM on his current contract.
Vacchiano notes that keeping Bradberry is still an option for the Giants. The 2020 Pro Bowler has only missed a pair games during his two-year tenure in the Big Apple, in which he has totalled seven interceptions and 35 pass breakups. As the most important piece to the teams’ secondary, he would therefore play a large role if new defensive coordinator Don Martindale‘s scheme is to be successfully implemented.
Nothing currently appears imminent on the Bradberry front, then, which may remain the case for at least another month or so.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/17/22
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: LS Aaron Brewer, P Andy Lee
Atlanta Falcons
- Re-signed: OL Colby Gossett, NT Anthony Rush
- Signed: S Teez Tabor, OT Elijah Wilkinson
Chicago Bears
- Released: LS Beau Brinkley
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: WR Mike Thomas
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: QB David Blough
- Signed: TE Garrett Griffin
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: P Pat O’Donnell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Trent Sherfield
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Kentavius Street
New York Giants
- Re-signed: OT Korey Cunningham
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Oren Burks (two-year deal)
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/16/22
Today’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: WR Brandon Zylstra
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-signed: LS Clark Harris
Houston Texans
- Acquired via trade (from Jets): LB Blake Cashman
- Signed: TE Scott Quessenberry
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: OL Will Richardson
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: FB Jakob Johnson
Minnesota Vikings
- Re-signed: P Jordan Berry
- Signed: TE Johnny Mundt, OL Austin Schlottmann
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LS Casey Kreiter
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DT Hassan Ridgeway
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: RB Trenton Cannon
Giants Sign TE Ricky Seals-Jones
Ricky Seals-Jones is staying in the NFC East. The tight end is signing with the Giants, reports ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (on Twitter).
Seals-Jones has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2017, spending time with the Cardinals, Browns, Chiefs, and Washington. His best season came in 2018 with Arizona when he had 34 receptions for 343 yards and one touchdown.
The tight end spent the 2021 season in Washington, seeing time in 13 games (six starts). He had 30 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Seals-Jones also spent time on special teams.
In New York, he’ll be joining a depth chart that has a giant hole after Evan Engram left for the Jaguars. The Giants are also rostering tight ends Jake Hausmann, Chris Myarick, and Rysen John.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/16/22
Here’s a look at the latest tender decisions from around the NFL:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: OL Ryan Bates
- Broncos: OLB Malik Reed
- Commanders: K Joey Slye
- 49ers: LB Azeez Al-Shaair
- Jets: K Eddy Pineiro, QB Mike White
- Rams: LB Travin Howard
- Saints: DL Shy Tuttle
Non-tendered:
- Bills: DT Justin Zimmer
- Broncos: DL DeShawn Williams
- Chiefs: CB Chris Lammons
- Giants: QB Jake Fromm
- Jets: DE Kyle Phillips, OT Greg Senat
- Raiders: CB Keisean Nixon
- Jaguars: RB Dare Ogunbowale
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Commanders: C Keith Ismael, K Brian Johnson, DE Bunmi Rotimi
Contract Details: Crosby, Gregory, Campbell, Conner, Jensen, Dissly, Glowinski
Here are the details from the latest agreed-upon contracts around the league:
- Maxx Crosby, DE (Raiders): Four years, $94MM. The Raiders gave Crosby a $13MM signing bonus and have fully guaranteed his 2022 and ’23 base salaries ($3.5MM, $10MM), Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. Crosby’s 2024 base ($19MM) will become fully guaranteed in 2023. Crosby’s 2025 and ’26 salaries ($21MM apiece) are nonguaranteed. There are $200K-per-year incentives included for All-Pro nods as well.
- Randy Gregory, OLB (Broncos): Five years, $70MM. Denver is giving Gregory a $10MM signing bonus and has the pass rusher attached to $4MM and $14MM base salaries in 2022 and ’23, respectively, per Brad Spielberger and Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus (on Twitter). Both years are fully guaranteed, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Gregory’s deal includes $1MM roster bonuses in 2025 and ’26.
- De’Vondre Campbell, LB (Packers): Five years, $50MM. Green Bay is giving Campbell a $15MM signing bonus and has backloaded the base salaries. Campbell’s first two salaries check in at $1.1MM and $1.45MM, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. They spike to just north of $7MM by 2024. A $3MM roster bonus is also due on Day 3 of the 2023 league year, with a $2.9MM roster bonus due at the same point on the 2024 calendar.
- Ryan Jensen, C (Buccaneers): Three years, $39MM. Jensen will see $23MM fully guaranteed, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. His 2022 breakdown goes $1.5MM base salary and $12.5MM roster bonus. $9MM of Jensen’s $12.5MM 2023 base salary is fully guaranteed, and the other $3.5MM shifts to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2023 league year.
- Will Dissly, TE (Seahawks): Three years, $24MM (max value). The deal includes a $9.3MM signing bonus but is light on guaranteed salary. Dissly’s $1MM 2022 salary is fully guaranteed, while Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets the 2023 base ($5.64MM) is guaranteed for injury. The injury-prone tight end’s 2024 base ($6.49MM) is nonguaranteed.
- James Conner, RB (Cardinals): Three years, $21MM. Conner’s deal includes $13.5MM guaranteed, per Kyed and Spielberger (on Twitter). Conner’s 2022 and ’23 base salaries ($1.75MM and $5.75MM) are fully guaranteed.
- Mark Glowinski, G (Giants): Three years, $18.3MM. The Giants included a $4.5MM signing bonus, and Glowinski will have cap figures of $3.35MM (2022), $7.75MM (2023) and $7.2MM (’24). Glowinski is due a $1MM roster bonus in 2023 (Twitter links via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan).
Giants To Sign QB Tyrod Taylor
The Giants have been looking for a high-level backup for Daniel Jones, and they’ve apparently found one. The team is signing quarterback Tyrod Taylor, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).
Taylor is inking a two-year deal worth $11MM and a max value of $17MM, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). The QB will get $8.5MM in guaranteed money, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
The Giants were reportedly in the market for a player who could provide some competition in the QB room, with Mitchell Trubisky among their targets before he landed in Pittsburgh. This logic makes sense; Jones has been inconsistent during his three seasons in the NFL. He went 4-7 as a starter in 2021, and while he completed a career-high 64.3 percent of his passes, he also tossed only 10 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. While the team has committed to Jones for next season, they also want to provide him with some competition.
So, in comes Taylor. The veteran joined the Texans last year, and he ended up getting six starts for his new team. He went 2-4 in these contests, completing 60.7 percent of his passes for 966 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. He added another 151 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. There is some familiarity with the QB and the front office; new Giants GM Joe Schoen crossed paths with Taylor when the two were in Buffalo.
While the Texans sound set with Davis Mills as their quarterback in 2022, the team did have some interest in retaining Taylor. We heard earlier this week that Houston was impressed by the QB’s professionalism and ability to mentor the team’s younger quarterbacks.