Giants Complete Kyle Rudolph Signing
Despite Tuesday’s roadblocks, the Giants have ironed things out with Kyle Rudolph. The former Vikings tight end inked his new deal with the G-Men on Wednesday morning (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
[RELATED: Giants Concerned About Kyle Rudolph‘s Physical]
Rudolph first agreed to a two-year, $12MM deal last week. Then, a Giants physical yielded concerns about a foot issue that put surgery on the table. While it loomed possible that Rudolph’s reworked contract would have less in the way of guarantees or other added protections in the event of an injury, the Giants are honoring the original deal they agreed to with the veteran tight end, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Rudolph will undergo surgery this offseason, Garafolo adds, but he is expected to ready for action by the time the Giants begin the regular season. It is not certain if Rudolph will be full-go when training camp opens.
The 31-year-old marks yet another notable signing for the Giants, who have also landed star wide receiver Kenny Golladay and former Titans cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. Rudolph is now set to support top tight end Evan Engram as the Giants look to reignite their offense.
Health Issue Holding Up Giants’ Kyle Rudolph Deal
The Giants’ contract agreement with longtime Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph is no longer a certainty. An injury issue emerged during Rudolph’s physical, and the sides are determining how to proceed, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
Following the physical, the Giants’ medical staff expressed concern about a foot issue, and Giants doctors believe Rudolph will require surgery, according to Garafolo. This could scuttle Rudolph’s two-year Giants accord. The sides previously agreed to terms, but Rudolph has not signed a contract.
This deal does not appear to be dead, however. Rudolph is still in New York and will meet with the Giants tonight, Garafolo tweets. Rather than send Rudolph back to free agency, the Giants may move forward despite the veteran needing to undergo surgery.
Rudolph agreed to a two-year, $12MM Giants pact that can max out at $14MM. However, after they agreed to terms with Rudolph, the Giants have been aggressive in free agency. The team has authorized high-end deals for Kenny Golladay and Adoree’ Jackson. The Giants also already have a No. 1 tight end, with Evan Engram going into a contract year.
A foot injury ended Rudolph’s 2020 season. The Vikings placed him on IR ahead of Week 17, doing so after their longtime tight end had missed the previous three games.
Giants To Sign Ryan Anderson
The Giants have agreed to sign outside linebacker Ryan Anderson to a one-year deal, according to Art Stapleton of The Record (on Twitter). The deal is worth $1.125MM for the veteran’s salary benefit, so it will count for just ~$988K against the 2021 cap. 
[RELATED: Giants To Sign Adoree’ Jackson]
Anderson, 27 in August, came into the league as a second-round pick out of Alabama. He’s spent much of the last four years as a reserve for Washington, but he showed glimpses of his potential in 2019 as he notched 44 stops and four sacks. He looked especially promising in a late-season game against the Eagles that year, when he came away with two sacks and three forced fumbles. In total, Anderson has 86 tackles and six sacks for his career.
The Giants have been especially active in recent days. On Monday, the Giants agreed a three-year, $39MM deal with free agent cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. And, over the weekend, they inked standout wide receiver Kenny Golladay to a four-year, $72MM pact with $40MM guaranteed.
Details On Nate Solder’s Reworked Deal With Giants
When we learned that the Giants were set to rework Nate Solder‘s contract, pretty much everyone expected that the team would save a small chunk of money. However, the veteran lineman’s new deal will actually see him take a significant pay cut.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Solder’s 2021 salary has been reduced from $10MM to only $3MM, leading to a $9.5MM cap charge (ultimately saving the organization $7MM). Solder’s 2022 deal was also reduced to $3MM, none of which is guaranteed, and his cap hit will drop from $18MM to $7MM. So, at the end of the day, Solder basically committed to a new two-year, $6MM deal with $3MM in guaranteed money.
Solder opted out of last season but had expressed a desire to play in 2021. The 6-foot-8 tackle was previously attached to a $16.5MM cap number after his contract tolled from 2020. Outright releasing the lineman never seemed like a logical option for the Giants, as it would have left the organization with $10.5MM in dead money.
New York signed Solder to a massive four-year, $62MM deal in 2018, and he’s been a pretty big disappointment for that hefty contract. They almost traded him in 2019, but nothing got done. While his production has gone down, Solder still started each of his 32 games between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, playing in at least 95-percent of his team’s offensive snaps per year.
There’s a chance that Solder sees mostly a backup role in 2021. The team’s rostering 2020 No. 4 overall pick Andrew Thomas, and they got some surprising production from third-round pick Matt Peart last season.
Giants To Sign Adoree’ Jackson
One of the biggest names on the free agent market has been officially scooped up. The Giants will sign cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).
It’s a three-year deal worth a whopping $39MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The contract comes with a signing bonus of $13.5MM, full guarantees of $26.5MM, and incentives can bring the total value up to $44.5MM, Schefter tweets. It’s the culmination of a several days long courtship that saw the Giants go all-out in their recruitment. Jackson was also scheduled to meet with the Eagles later this week, but he’ll be canceling that now.
Jackson was cut by the Titans last week before the fifth-year option on his rookie contract became guaranteed. He had been set to cost Tennessee $10.2MM under that fifth-year option, so his release actually ended up getting him a raise as his new pact has an AAV of $13MM. A number of other teams reportedly showed interest, including the Rams, Chiefs, Raiders, and Cardinals.
Giants GM Dave Gettleman, whose job status beyond 2021 is tenuous at best, has been aggressive in what could be his final free agency if things don’t go well this season. The team just committed a large contract to Kenny Golladay over the weekend.
As many Giants writers were quick to point out, this signing likely means that even more contract restructures are coming to clear space. Jackson, a USC product, was drafted 18th overall in 2017. He became a starter as a rookie with the Titans, and also returned punts his first two years.
This past season, a knee injury limited him to only three games. Jackson only has two interceptions in 46 career games, but does have 33 passes defended. He’s played well at times and struggled at others, but is capable of being a very solid player. He’s still only 25, and will slot in opposite James Bradberry at corner for the Giants.
New York Notes: Darnold, Giants, Sanders
Before the legal tampering period kicked off, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com said it was more likely than not that the Jets would trade Sam Darnold, assuming that BYU QB Zach Wilson — whom the Jets would select with the No. 2 overall pick to replace Darnold — “checks the important boxes during the pre-draft process.” Cimini said at the time that there was a market for Darnold, and he named Washington, the Bears, the Seahawks, the Texans, and the 49ers as potential landing spots.
But since then, WFT signed Ryan Fitzpatrick and Chicago acquired Andy Dalton. Obviously, neither of those QBs are long-term answers, but they do at least obviate an immediate need for a signal-caller. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are moving forward with Russell Wilson, Houston may be unable to trade incumbent QB Deshaun Watson in light of the sexual abuse allegations that have been levied against him, and it’s unclear how actively San Francisco is pursuing an upgrade over Jimmy Garoppolo. As such, the Jets might not be able to trade Darnold, and it will be interesting to see if that will impact the team’s decision with respect to Zach Wilson (or any other rookie passer).
Now for more out of the Empire State:
- In less exciting Jets news, the team is still looking into free agent kickers and wants to find a starting-caliber corner, as Cimini writes. The CB need will probably be filled in the draft; Cimini does not expect the club to pursue Richard Sherman, despite the obvious Sherman-Robert Saleh connection.
- It might go without saying, but when the Giants agreed to a three-year, $63MM pact with DL Leonard Williams a few days ago, Williams agreed to drop his grievance concerning his 2020 franchise tag, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Williams was tagged as a defensive tackle but believed he should have received a defensive end tag, and if he had prevailed, his tag number for 2021 would have jumped to $21.4MM. Since he got a $21MM AAV on his extension, things worked out just fine for him in the end.
- Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Williams — who is clearly not afraid to bet on himself — pushed for a shorter contract so that he can hit the open market again before he turns 30. Duggan says the Giants have explored restructures for 2020 signees James Bradberry and Blake Martinez, something the club may need to really push for now that it has agreed to a big-money deal for WR Kenny Golladay.
- The Giants signed veteran TE Kyle Rudolph earlier this week, but his addition does not impact Evan Engram‘s status with the team, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Engram will play out the 2021 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and hopes for a strong platform performance after struggling a bit in 2020.
- These days, instead of being forced to reach out to agents to convince their clients to play in western New York, agents are the ones calling the Bills, as Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News writes. Head coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane have created a winning club and a positive culture, and players around the league are taking notice and now see Buffalo as an attractive destination. While the Bills didn’t have a ton of cap space heading into this year’s free agent cycle — or many major holes to fill — they did bring in WR Emmanuel Sanders, whom they had targeted for several years. Sanders is a prime example of the changing feelings towards Buffalo, saying “[w]ho wouldn’t want to be part of it?” (via John Wawrow of the Associated Press).
Giants, Kenny Golladay Agree To Terms
The Giants brought Kenny Golladay in for a lengthy visit, and arguably the top free agent still left on the board will play in New York next season. Golladay has agreed to sign with the Giants, veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson tweets.
Even after the salary cap’s significant reduction, Golladay secured a deal near the top of the wide receiver market. He will sign a four-year, $72MM deal with the Giants, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Golladay will receive $40MM guaranteed, Rapoport adds, noting that this contract can max out at $76MM. Dan Duaggan of The Athletic passes along the full details in a Twitter thread, noting that Golladay gets a $17MM signing bonus and that the deal includes a voidable fifth year for cap purposes. The 2021 cap hit will be just $4.5MM, but that number jumps to $21.15MM in 2022.
Although the Bears were the first team to bring Golladay in for a visit, the Giants extended their summit with the 6-foot-4 wideout to nearly three days. Golladay began meeting with the Giants on Thursday. Two afternoons later, he will become the team’s new No. 1 wide receiver.
The Bears made a strong push to have Golladay stay in the NFC North, attempting to find salary space for to form an elite Golladay-Allen Robinson tandem. Ultimately, this came down to Bears and Giants for the Northern Illinois product, Rapoport tweets. While Rapoport notes the Bears were prepared to incorporate void years to create cap space for a Golladay deal, their effort proved to be for naught (Twitter link). The Ravens also pursued the talented wideout, perhaps further increasing Golladay’s price.
Months ago, the Lions offered Golladay a deal in this $18MM-per-year ballpark, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Golladay opted to wait and hit the market. Despite the likes of Will Fuller and JuJu Smith-Schuster taking one-year deals at lower rates, Golladay managed to secure a deal in the top 10 among receivers.
Linked to Golladay weeks ahead of free agency, the Giants will land their top target. The longtime Lions pass catcher entered the week with interest in joining the Giants, with SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reporting (via Twitter) he had them atop his list for a bit now. The Giants gave Golladay the option of a long-term pact or a one-year contract, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets.
Golladay, 27, will replace ex-Lions teammate Golden Tate in three-receiver sets alongside Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton. Golladay will be easily the team’s highest-profile receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. It took an OBJ-level contract to move this past the finish line. The Giants released Tate earlier this offseason, ending a two-year partnership that did not ultimately work out. Going into his fifth season, Golladay profiles as a more natural heir apparent to Beckham as Big Blue’s WR1. This receiver trio will join the Giants’ new Evan Engram–Kyle Rudolph tight end tandem. Along with the returning Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones‘ next skill-position crew looks substantially better than the one with which he played last season.
While Golladay missed most of his final Lions season — due to hamstring and hip injuries — he posted two 1,000-yard seasons and became Detroit’s top boundary threat since Calvin Johnson. The jump-ball standout ventured to the Pro Bowl in 2019, doing so despite Matthew Stafford going down midway through that season. The Lions will be starting over at wideout, having now lost Golladay and Marvin Jones this week. Jones joined the Jaguars.
Latest On Kenny Golladay, Giants
The Giants hosted Kenny Golladay on a two-day visit and remain interested in the Pro Bowl wide receiver, but the parties’ summit ended Friday evening without a contract agreement, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
However, the Giants are planning to stay in the mix for the four-year veteran. Golladay’s visit may not be finished overall, with veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson tweeting the sought-after receiver plans to stay in town and continue talking with the Giants. Momentum appeared to be building toward a deal earlier this afternoon, per Anderson (on Twitter), but Golladay remains a free agent.
He has received interest from a few other teams, having visited the Bears on Wednesday. The Ravens have also reached out to the two-time 1,000-yard wideout. The Dolphins expressed interest earlier this offseason, but they appear to have filled their outside-receiver need with Will Fuller.
While select other big-name receivers are still available, Golladay is the top unsigned target. The Ravens lead the two NFC suitors in cap space and missed out on JuJu Smith-Schuster, who opted to stay with the Steelers for less money than their AFC North rivals offered. The Bears still have Allen Robinson under contract but are interested in pairing him with Golladay, which would form one of the NFL’s best receiving tandems. The Giants lack a WR1-type player; Golladay would certainly fit the bill.
Giants To Meet With Adoree’ Jackson
Adoree’ Jackson is set to meet with the Giants (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). This marks the first known visit for the former Titans first-round pick, who was released earlier this week.
Jackson graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 8 overall corner in 2019. It was a big step up from ’17 and ’18, though he still garnered top-40 finishes in each year. Unfortunately, a knee injury limited him to just three games in 2020. After a bad platform year, Jackson finds himself looking for work in the worst possible climate. Also, the Titans didn’t do him any favors by releasing him just this past Tuesday.
The Giants’ D was awful in 2019, but things improved last year under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. The G-Men ranked 12th in yards per game (349), ninth in points allowed (22.3), and a much more respectable 16th in passing yards surrendered (237). Teamed with James Bradberry and Logan Ryan, Jackson could nudge the secondary along even further.
Giants To Sign LB Reggie Ragland
Reggie Ragland will be entering his fifth NFL season in 2021, and he’ll be in uniform for his fourth NFL team. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the free agent linebacker is signing with the Giants. It’s a one-year deal for the 27-year-old.
The 2016 second-round pick out of Alabama missed his entire rookie campaign due to a torn ACL, and he found himself buried on the Bills depth chart during the 2017 preseason. He was ultimately traded to the Chiefs for a fourth-round pick, and the linebacker proceeded to start 10 games for his new team. Ragland started 22 more games for Kansas City in 2018 and 2019, and he earned a ring after appearing in three playoff games (one start) with the Chiefs during his final season with the organization.
He signed with the Lions last offseason and saw inconsistent playing time throughout the 2020 campaign. He ended up starting six of his 16 games, collecting 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three QB hits. However, he only finished with a single sack in 562 defensive snaps.
The Giants’ interest in free agent linebackers isn’t anything new. We learned earlier today that the team was set to host free agent linebacker Brandon Copeland.