Giants Meet With CB Jason McCourty
Having already handed out a big cornerback contract this offseason, the Giants are still looking for additional help at the position. They are hosting Jason McCourty on a visit Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
This comes a few weeks after a report indicated mutual interest existed between McCourty and the Giants. He will huddle up with former Patriots assistant Joe Judge and other Giants brass to discuss a deal.
A Giants agreement would represent a homecoming of sorts for McCourty, who is a Rutgers alum who also played his high school ball in New Jersey. Jason McCourty, who entered the NFL a year ahead of twin brother Devin, spent the past three seasons with the Patriots. The 33-year-old corner intends to play a 13th season, and the Giants may ensure he does so in his home state. McCourty has a home in New Jersey and has a history with Judge.
The second-year Giants coach was on the Patriots’ staff for Jason McCourty’s first two seasons in New England, though he served as the Pats’ special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach during that span. Despite the Patriots having one of the NFL’s best cornerback contingents last season, McCourty played 65% of the team’s defensive snaps and started 11 games. Pro Football Focus observed a decline in play from the 12th-year veteran, however, dropping him outside the top 75 at cornerback after previously slotting him sixth (in 2018) and 18th (in ’19) at the position.
The Giants have made big-ticket additions at corner in each of the past two offseasons, having added James Bradberry last year and Adoree’ Jackson last month. They also have Logan Ryan locked down as well, after signing the former Patriots and Titans defender late last summer. McCourty, who has 18 career interceptions and three defensive touchdowns, would add to this overhaul under Judge.
Bears, Browns, Giants Latest To Opt-Out Of Offseason Workouts
Well, they’re falling like dominos now. A handful of teams had already issued statements through the NFLPA declaring their opposition to in-person offseason workouts, and now three more clubs have joined them.
The Bears, Browns, and Giants became the latest three teams to announce they prefer a virtual offseason, which the NFL had last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the statements from this new trio respectively through these Twitter links. Chicago, Cleveland, and New York are now the sixth, seventh, and eighth teams to issue such statements.
The Broncos, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Lions, and Patriots have already done so. Just yesterday the league announced the schedule for offseason workouts, which can begin on Monday April 19th. The Browns’ statement begins by saying “the NFL’s memo outlining how they plan to implement voluntary workouts falls short of what we as players believe is adequate.”
Cleveland’s statement is perhaps especially notable since Browns center J.C. Tretter is president of the NFLPA. He was tagged in the post. The Bears’ says “the majority of our locker room,” seemingly indicating some players will be attending. The Patriots’ said something similar.
With this now being a growing trend across the league there is going to be a lot of fallout, and this is far from the last we’ll hear of it. Many players have workout bonuses tied to these phases, so it’ll be interesting to see how that all shakes out.
The NFL responded to some player complaints with a memo touting the benefits of in-person workouts at team facilities, which you can read courtesy of this tweet from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The league points out that any player who gets hurt at an in-person workout will be covered financially, but a player who gets hurt while working out on their own won’t be. More teams will likely follow suit in the coming days, so stay tuned.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/14/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Stephen Carlson, DT Sheldon Day
New York Giants
- Waived: DB Ryan Lewis
Kyle Rudolph Battling Lisfranc Injury
Kyle Rudolph is expected to undergo foot surgery soon, and he may be in for extensive rehab. The new Giants tight end is believed to be dealing with a Lisfranc injury, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. The troublesome foot malady can be difficult to shake, but Rudolph expects to be ready for Week 1. This injury is similar to what Evan Engram dealt with in 2019. Engram underwent surgery to address his Lisfranc issue in December 2019 and was ready for training camp last year. Rudolph’s timetable is considerably more condensed, which likely led to the delay in the veteran tight end signing his Giants contract. Engram and Rudolph would give the Giants one of the NFL’s top tight end tandems, but the former’s injury history and the latter’s current issue cloud that situation to some degree.
Giants’ Isaac Yiadom Takes Pay Cut
Isaac Yiadom has accepted a pay cut in order to keep his place on the Giants’ roster (Twitter link via Dan Duggan of The Athletic). The cornerback was initially slated to earn a non-guaranteed $2.15MM in 2021. Instead, he’ll earn $1.07MM with $100K locked in.
After being traded by the Broncos, Yiadom appeared in every game for the Giants last year, including ten starts. He finished out with 46 tackles, one forced fumble, and a shared sack. With 45 career games to his credit, Yiadom hit a salary escalator for the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. The Giants were prepared to cut him loose, so the two sides worked out a different arrangement.
This year, the former third-round pick will support a revamped CB group that now includes newcomer Adoree’ Jackson. Jackson and James Bradberry will serve as the starting outside corners. Jackson’s three-year deal cost the Giants a whopping $39MM, which meant that cuts and restructures would be needed. Thanks to cooperation from Yiadom, the Giants have gone from about $4.5MM in cap room to approximately $5.6MM.
Giants Owner John Mara On Expectations, Dave Gettleman
The Giants have lost double-digit games in four consecutive seasons. GM Dave Gettleman has presided over the last three of them. Although club co-owner John Mara did not explicitly say so, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv says it is inconceivable that Gettleman will be back in 2022 if Big Blue suffers through another losing season.
Of course, it was far from a sure thing that Gettleman would keep his job after the 2020 campaign. Even in late December, there were reports that ownership was more comfortable getting rid of Gettleman, who turned 70 in February, and bringing in a new top exec to work alongside head coach Joe Judge.
But the G-Men have traditionally given their GMs a long leash, and Gettleman has proven to be no exception. Several seasons ago, Mara knew that the team was embarking on a multi-year rebuild, and last season, he knew that a new HC with new systems and a new culture could delay that rebuild a bit. So it stands to reason that a team that favors continuity anyway would stay the course with a GM that was dealt a difficult hand.
That said, Gettleman’s personnel decisions have been a mixed bag at best. He did make some savvy pickups last offseason in cornerback James Bradberry, linebacker Blake Martinez, and defensive back Logan Ryan, and he was vindicated for his gamble on defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Those acquisitions were probably what saved his job, but like most GMs, Gettleman will ultimately be judged on if he made the right call at quarterback. And the jury is very much out on Daniel Jones, the No. 6 overall pick of the 2019 draft (though Mara did say that he thinks very highly of Jones).
Clearly, the team feels that it can compete this season, and it authorized a few significant contracts in free agency, the most notable of which was the four-year, $72MM whopper for WR Kenny Golladay. Mara admits that his hopes for his club this season are higher than they have been in recent seasons, and as a result of those expectations and the major financial commitments that were made in an effort to realize them, Gettleman is surely feeling the pressure.
When asked directly if Gettleman would be retained if 2021 turns into another disappointment, Mara said, “I’m not going to speculate that right now. Let’s just see how the season plays out.” But he also said, “I’m tired of the losing and of having the postseason press conference trying to explain what went wrong, why I think we’re making progress. It’s time for us to start winning some more.”
It would be surprising to see Judge ousted if the team struggles this year, given how much ownership and the locker room seems to like him, though Vacchino suggests it could be a possibility. But even if Judge could survive a sub-.500 finish, it seems clear that Gettleman will not.
Giants “Not In Any Hurry” To Extend RB Saquon Barkley
The Giants have eagerly dished out cash this offseason, but that doesn’t mean Saquon Barkley will benefit from the spending spree. Speaking to reporters, Giants owner John Mara said an extension for the running back isn’t coming any time soon.
[RELATED: Giants Undecided On Saquon Barkley’s Fifth-Year Option]
“We’re not in any hurry to do that,” Mara said (via SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano on Twitter). “We fully expect him to be as good as new. … We hope he’s going to be a Giant for life. At the appropriate time, we’ll start those discussions.”
The former second-overall pick quickly established himself as one of the top running backs in the league, averaging 1,734.5 yards from scrimmage and 11.5 touchdowns per season through his first two years in the NFL. However, after missing a handful of games in 2019, Barkley was limited to only two games in 2020 before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
The 24-year-old is about to enter the final year of his four-year rookie contract, but he has an affordable fifth-year option that’s valued at only $7.2MM. Barkley is also eligible to sign an extension after having spent three years in the league. Despite the modest fifth-year salary, it isn’t guaranteed that the running back has his option picked up. Earlier this month, GM Dave Gettleman didn’t seem to commit one way or the other, hinting that health could be a concern.
The Giants may be dragging their feet with the fifth-year option (and the subsequent extension), but Mara still made it clear that he wants Barkley to spend the rest of his career in New York. This Giants are likely doing their due diligence before committing to any future deals with the star running back.
Jason McCourty On Giants’ Radar?
The Giants already gave Adoree’ Jackson a lucrative deal to join James Bradberry at cornerback. Joe Judge may be interested in bringing a more familiar cover man to New York as well.
Mutual interest is believed to exist between the Giants and Jason McCourty, per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post (on Twitter). McCourty spent the past three seasons with the Patriots; Judge was on New England’s staff for two of those slates.
McCourty confirmed he will intend to play a 13th NFL season, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter). Considering twin brother Devin McCourty remains under contract with the Patriots, it would seem to keep them in the mix for the 33-year-old corner. But Jason McCourty, who has also played with the Titans and Browns, may be ready to move elsewhere again.
The 12-year defender is a New York native who played collegiately in New Jersey (Rutgers). He started 11 games for a deep Patriots cornerback corps last season, playing 65% of the Pats’ defensive snaps. The former sixth-round pick has made 137 NFL starts. He would certainly add experience to a Giants corner crew that has given Bradberry an experienced cover man in Jackson.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/30/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Micah Simon
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: DL Tyler Lancaster
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Ryan Smith
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on reserve/retired list: TE Hale Hentges
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Cole Hikutini, DB Joshua Kalu, DB Christopher Milton
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: S Matthias Farley
Giants To Sign Danny Shelton
We heard that Danny Shelton was visiting with the Giants on Monday, and that visit apparently went well. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to terms on a deal with New York, his agent Drew Rosenhaus told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Financial terms weren’t immediately available, but it’s a one-year contract. Shelton had signed a two-year, $8MM pact with the Lions last offseason but made it only halfway through that before he was released. This will already be the fourth NFL team for the 12th overall pick of the 2015 draft. He was drafted by Cleveland, traded to New England, signed with Detroit, and is now on his way to New York.
He’s still only 27, and although he never unlocked the potential you’d hope for as a 12th overall pick, he’s been a solid clogger of running lanes in the middle. In 12 games for the Lions in 2020, all starts, he had 37 tackles as a sack.
He had three sacks in 2019 with the Patriots, showing at least a tiny bit of pass-rush upside. After losing Dalvin Tomlinson to a big deal from the Vikings in free agency, the Giants will be counting on Shelton to help replace him as a cheaper option in the middle of the defensive front.