Giants To Franchise Leonard Williams
The Giants surprised most by trading for Leonard Williams at last year’s deadline, and the team will not let the former top-10 pick hit free agency. Big Blue is expected to use its franchise tag on Williams, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
While this qualifies as one of the more interesting tag decisions in recent years, this will allow the Giants to minimize the trade haul they will send to the Jets. The Giants only have to deal third- and fourth-round picks to the Jets if they extend Williams by the start of the new league year. A Giants franchise tag, instead, means Gang Green will only receive third- and fifth-rounders, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY confirms (via Twitter).
Williams has a Pro Bowl on his resume, but the 2015 No. 6 overall pick has not lived up to expectations. He registered merely a half-sack in 2019 and posted just two tackles for loss in his season with both New York teams. This move will either cost the Giants $17.8MM — if Williams is tagged as a defensive end — or $16.1MM (the defensive tackle price).
A Williams tag also may impact the Giants’ prospects at landing one of the top non-tagged outside linebackers on the market. They are rumored to be interested in Jadeveon Clowney but reportedly not willing to authorize a top-market contract for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Giants Sign David Mayo To Three-Year Extension
The Giants are locking up one of their own shortly before the start of free agency. New York has signed linebacker David Mayo to a three-year extension, according to Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post (Twitter link). Dan Duggan of The Athletic was the first to report the news (Twitter link).
Terms of the deal weren’t immediately available, but we’ll pass those along to you as soon as we get word. 2019 was Mayo’s first year with New York, and he enjoyed a breakout season. He appeared in all 16 games and started 13, receiving very strong marks from Pro Football Focus for his work. Now, he’s being rewarded with what is presumably a nice payday. He finished last season with 82 tackles, two sacks, and two passes defended, serving mostly as a run-stuffer.
All told, he played a hair under 57 percent of the defensive snaps. A Texas State product, Mayo entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Panthers back in 2015. He barely played on defense his first couple of years in the league, before earning a small role his last two seasons in Carolina.
He was mostly a special teams player with the Panthers, and signed a two-year deal with the 49ers last offseason. San Francisco released him at final cuts, and the Giants didn’t even sign him until September 2nd. It was a pretty late pickup that ended up paying major dividends, and turning into a nice diamond in the rough find.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/20
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
New York Giants
- Waived/failed physical: T George Asafo-Adjei
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Chris Milton
Giants Re-Sign FB Eli Penny
Eli Penny is sticking with the Giants. The organization agreed to a two-year deal with the fullback, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter). The 26-year-old was set to become a restricted free agent.
Penny, the older brother of Seahawks running back Rashaad Penny, was an undrafted free agent out of Idaho in 2016. After serving as a running back in college, he spent the first two-plus seasons of his career as a fullback with the Cardinals. He got into 16 games with Arizona in 2017, compiling 124 rushing yards and two scores on 31 attempts. He also added two receptions and 12 special teams tackles.
He joined the Giants during the 2018 campaign, and he’s spent the past season-plus with the organization. That includes a 2019 campaign where he appeared in 16 games and contributed 39 rushing yards.
Penny will once again be serving as the lead blocker for Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman in 2020.
NFL Announces Compensatory Picks For 2020 Draft
The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2020 draft.
These picks are awarded to the teams that suffered the most significant free agent losses during the 2019 offseason. This year, the Patriots top the list (shared below) with a league-high four picks.
The comp pick formula assigns picks who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks. The Ravens collected two this year and remain in the all-time lead (from 1994-2020) with 52. No other franchise has accumulated more than 43 compensatory picks.
Here’s the full breakdown, by round and by team:
By Round:
Round 3: Texans (No. 97 overall), Patriots (98), Giants (99), Patriots (100), Seahawks (101), Steelers (102), Eagles (103), Rams (104), Vikings (105), Ravens (106)
Round 4: Buccaneers (No. 139), Bears (140), Dolphins (141), Redskins (142), Ravens (143), Seahawks (144), Eagles (145), Eagles (146)
Round 5: Broncos (No. 178), Cowboys (179)
Round 6: Patriots (No. 212), Patriots (213), Seahawks (214)
Round 7: Giants (No. 247), Texans (248), Vikings (249), Texans (250), Dolphins (251), Broncos (252), Vikings (253), Broncos (254), Giants (255)
By Team:
- New England Patriots (4)
- Denver Broncos (3)
- Houston Texans (3)
- Minnesota Vikings (3)
- New York Giants (3)
- Philadelphia Eagles (3)
- Baltimore Ravens (2)
- Miami Dolphins (2)
- Chicago Bears (1)
- Dallas Cowboys (1)
- Los Angeles Rams (1)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (1)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1)
- Washington Redskins (1)
The compensatory free agents lost and gained in 2019 by the clubs that will receive compensatory picks in the 2020 draft:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Lost: John Brown, C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Terrell Suggs
- Gained: Mark Ingram, Earl Thomas
- Chicago Bears
- Lost: Adrian Amos, Josh Bellamy, Bryce Callahan, Eric Kush
- Gained: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Cordarrelle Patterson, Buster Skrine
- Dallas Cowboys
- Lost: Cole Beasley, Geoff Swaim, Damien Wilson
- Gained: Randall Cobb, Christian Covington
- Denver Broncos
- Lost: Shaquil Barrett, Tramaine Brock, Max Garcia, Matt Paradis, Bradley Roby, Billy Turner
- Gained: Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, Ja’Wuan James
- Houston Texans
- Lost: Christian Covington, Kareem Jackson, Kendall Lamm, Tyrann Mathieu
- Gained: Bradley Roby
- Los Angeles Rams
- Lost: Lamarcus Joyner, Rodger Saffold
- Gained: Clay Matthews
- Miami Dolphins
- Lost: Brandon Bolden, Frank Gore, Ja’Wuan James, Cameron Wake
- Gained: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Rowe
- Minnesota Vikings
- Lost: Tom Compton, Nick Easton, Sheldon Richardson, Trevor Siemian
- Gained: Shamar Stephen
- New England Patriots
- Lost: Malcom Brown, Trent Brown, Trey Flowers, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Eric Rowe, LaAdrian Waddle
- Gained: Brandon Bolden
- New York Giants
- Lost: Jamon Brown, Landon Collins, Mario Edwards, Josh Mauro, B.W. Webb, Kerry Wynn
- Gained: Markus Golden, Golden Tate
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Lost: Nick Foles, Jordan Hicks, Golden Tate
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Lost: Le’Veon Bell, Jesse James
- Gained: Steven Nelson
- Seattle Seahawks
- Lost: Justin Coleman, Brett Hundley, Shamar Stephen, J.R. Sweezy, Earl Thomas
- Gained: Mike Iupati, Jason Myers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Washington Redskins
Giants TE Rhett Ellison To Retire
Shortly after news emerged that Rhett Ellison was considering retirement, the Giants tight end will follow through. Ellison announced his retirement Monday. He played eight NFL seasons.
The 31-year-old blocking tight end saw his 2019 season end because of a concussion, and that setback led to this announcement. Ellison was under contract for the 2020 season, at a career-high $4.9MM base salary, but will step away from the game instead.
Ellison signed a four-year, $18MM deal with the Giants in 2017 and played in 40 games with the team. He spent his first four seasons with the Vikings, arriving in Minnesota as a 2012 fourth-round pick. Ellison caught 118 passes for 1,189 yards and seven touchdowns in his 113-game career, working alongside Kyle Rudolph and then Evan Engram.
A USC alum, Ellison posted a career-high 272 receiving yards in 2018. Ellison helped the Giants during Engram’s latest injury-marred season, but the concussion he sustained resulted in the Giants finishing the season without their top two tight ends.
The Giants have Engram under contract through 2020 but can control him through 2021 via the fifth-year option. They have been linked to Jason Witten, whom new OC Jason Garrett coached for nine seasons in Dallas, but nothing on that front has emerged in weeks.
Giants, Leonard Williams Not Close On Deal
Five-plus months after making a surprising trade for contract-year defensive lineman Leonard Williams, the Giants still have some work to do to re-sign him. The sides are not close on an extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
The former top-10 pick is expected to have a strong market in free agency, and Rapoport adds that the franchise tag remains a possibility. The Giants stand to hold more than $70MM in cap space but have many needs.
Dave Gettleman said earlier this year that Williams wanted to re-sign with the Giants. Williams, however, said he would not do so without a top-tier deal. The Giants traded for Williams just before the deadline. If the Giants extend Williams before free agency opens, they owe the Jets third- and fourth-round picks. If no extension occurs in that time, the compensation drops to third- and fifth-round selections.
The prospect of a Williams re-up with the Giants may stand at 50-50, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. Big Blue has been linked to Jadeveon Clowney in free agency while also not being prepared to give him a top-market deal. Given that the Giants’ present strength on defense resides up front — where Dexter Lawrence and Dalvin Tomlinson are under contract — it would be interesting to see them hand Williams a major extension and pass on Clowney, who has the Giants on his short list. With B.J. Hill also in the fold, it can be argued the Giants should pass on a long-term Williams deal and devote money to other needs.
Nevertheless, the Giants want to retain Williams. This makes sense given that they dealt a third-rounder and change for him despite not being a contending team last season. Williams recorded career-low numbers in sacks (0.5) and quarterback hits (11) last season and has not delivered on the promise he carried into the 2015 draft, when the Jets selected him at No. 5 overall. Williams, however, is just 25 and has a Pro Bowl on his resume. He also registered a career-high 25 QB hits in 2017 and, lack of sacks notwithstanding, has graded fairly well in the view of Pro Football Focus throughout his career.
Giants To Trade Down In Round 1?
- The Giants have not traded down in Round 1 since 2006; Dave Gettleman has somehow never traded down in any round in seven drafts as a GM. The team famously did not discuss moving down from its No. 2 spot in 2018, when it chose Saquon Barkley, and then surprised the football world by taking Daniel Jones at No. 6 last year. Faced with a bevy of needs, however, the Giants will end up trading down this year, Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com predicts (via Twitter). Big Blue features needs at tackle, perhaps every linebacker spot and across the secondary.
Jadeveon Clowney Interested In Giants Deal
One of a few teams to express early interest in Jadeveon Clowney, the Giants may have a leg up on the competition. If they’re willing to use it.
The free agent edge defender is interested in signing with the Giants, with SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano reporting the six-year veteran has Big Blue on his “wish list” for what would be a third NFL destination. The Giants feature a major need at the edge rusher position, and unlike last year, their top-six pick does not fall in range to select one.
Clowney, however, will come with a high price tag. The Giants are unlikely to go into the $22-$23MM-AAV range for Clowney, Vacchiano adds. Big Blue stands to enter free agency with more than $70MM in cap space.
Dave Gettleman dismantled predecessor Jerry Reese‘s previous edge tandem of Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon over the past two offseasons, and the Giants’ third-year GM then bypassed Josh Allen with last year’s No. 6 overall pick to select Daniel Jones. Although the Giants did well on their Markus Golden flier, the former Cardinals draftee is expected to hit free agency. Golden is interested in re-signing with the Giants but will come with a higher price tag this offseason, after having registered a Giants-most 10 sacks in 2019.
If the Giants bow out of the Clowney sweepstakes, there may be a steep drop to the second tier of this market’s edge defender class. Shaquil Barrett, Yannick Ngakoue, Bud Dupree and Matt Judon are set to be franchise-tagged. Tag-and-trade scenarios will exist, but the Giants’ next set of options will include Dante Fowler, Robert Quinn, Mario Addison and Shaq Lawson. Arik Armstead may not be tagged, but he profiles as more of a pure defensive lineman than an edge player.
The Giants’ No. 4 overall pick will likely arrive after decorated Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young goes off the board, and this year’s pass rusher class is not as strong as 2019’s. This could put the Giants to a decision when the legal tampering period begins March 16. The Colts and Titans may be ready to pay Clowney a top-market deal.
Giants Notes: Remmers, Jones
Free agent offensive lineman Mike Remmers will not re-sign with the Giants before the market opens in two weeks, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Remmers started 14 games at right tackle for New York in 2019, but given that he’s entering his age-31 season, it shouldn’t be surprising if he’s forced to settle for another one-year deal in free agency. A former undrafted free agent, Remmers has spent two of the past three seasons playing under Pat Shurmur, leading Florio to speculate that Remmer could now be an option for the offensive line-needy Broncos, who recently brought Shurmur aboard as offensive coordinator.
- A number of teams have expressed early interest in Cowboys free agent cornerback Byron Jones, but Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network hears the Giants and Eagles could potentially engage in a bidding war for the veteran defensive back. The Broncos, Lions, and Raiders have also been mentioned as possible suitors for Jones, who is reaching free agency after five seasons in Dallas. Widely viewed as the best corner available, Jones could reset the CB market by topping $16MM+ in annual salary.