Shurmur Was 'Furious' With Beckham Jr. Last Year?
There’s been a lot of renewed discussion about the possibility of an Odell Beckham Jr. trade recently. Beckham Jr. was shopped last offseason, but a mega-extension he signed just before the season seemed to put any trade talk to rest. Just a year into his new record breaking deal however, the rumors have popped up again after Beckham Jr. clashed with his new coaching staff this past weekend. Speaking at the combine this week Giants GM Dave Gettleman didn’t completely shut the door on a potential trade, but said the team “didn’t sign Odell to trade him.”
To that end, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY says the Giants won’t get serious about trading him “unless they are overwhelmed with an offer.” On the other hand, Vacchiano also says head coach Pat Shurmur was “furious” with him at times last year over his antics, particularly when he gave an interview to ESPN where he openly questioned the team’s quarterback situation. Vacchiano also writes that the Giants “are often closer to the breaking point than they may publicly appear” with Beckham Jr. It’ll be a fascinating situation to monitor as the offseason unfold.
Giants Exploring Olivier Vernon Trades
The Giants have discussed the possibility of trading linebacker Olivier Vernon with other clubs, sources tell Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Vernon inked a massive five-year, $85MM deal with the Giants in 2016, but the club is now looking to move his deal and put those resources to use elsewhere. 
Vernon, 28, gave the Giants a career-high 8.5 sacks in his first season with the club. He’s continued to get to the QB with 22 sacks over the course of three years, but injuries have cost him nine games over the last two campaigns. Last year, he averages four pressures per contest in eleven games.
Currently, Vernon is set to carry cap hits of $15.5MM in each of the next two seasons. The Giants have also considered releasing him outright, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (on Twitter) hears, so this could be a last ditch effort for the club to get something instead of losing him for nothing. Cutting Vernon would result in $11.5MM in cap savings, but would also saddle the team with $8MM in dead money.
It stands to reason that other clubs will be interested in adding Vernon, especially now that Eagles standout Brandon Graham is off the market. The Jets, for example, could use an edge rusher of his caliber, and the two sides could theoretically discuss Vernon in a deal that would call for the Jets to move down from the No. 3 overall pick to the No. 6 overall choice. Of course, it’s not a given that the two sides will do business together.
Despite the injuries and the Giants’ overall woes, Vernon graded out as the 13th best edge defender in the NFL last year, according to Pro Football Focus. His 86.3 score – from an admittedly smaller sample of 665 snaps – ranked as the best mark of his career.
Odell Beckham Jr. Still Available?
Dave Gettleman gave his Odell Beckham Jr. party line again this week, insisting the Giants were planning to keep him. However, trade gusts continue to swirl in Indianapolis. While the Giants won’t move Beckham for a below-market deal, Jay Glazer of The Athletic notes (subscription required) buzz around the Combine points to the team being ready to part ways with the superstar wideout if the offer is fair. Glazer predicted earlier this month Beckham would be traded. Teams are higher on Beckham than Antonio Brown, with the latter’s antics posing a significant problem for some, Glazer hears. This could inflate Beckham’s value, but Gettleman will surely need to be blown away to part ways with the recently extended wideout.
- Nick Foles has now been connected to the Jaguars and Giants, but the Redskins also need a starting quarterback. Or do they? Washington appears likely to avoid spending starter-level cash on a veteran, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Colt McCoy has one season remaining on his contract, and a report earlier this month indicated the Redskins are high on their backup as a possible stopgap starter. McCoy, 32, has not been a full-time starter since working in that capacity for the 2011 Browns. He started 21 games for Cleveland from 2010-11 before becoming a well-regarded backup.
Jets Open To Trading Down From No. 3
Last year, the Jets traded up from the No. 6 overall pick to the No. 3 choice. This year, GM Mike Maccagnan says they’re open to moving down from No. 3 (via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini). 
“Right now, we feel good at No. 3, but I’d definitely say if there’s an opportunity to trade down, we would absolutely look at it,” the GM said.
The Jets have 20+ impending free agents and multiple holes to fill, so a trade down would make a lot of sense. Typically, teams trading down from top 5 picks tend to pair up with quarterback-needy teams, and interestingly enough, the rival Giants own the No. 6 pick and could be one of those clubs. The Jets and Giants haven’t pulled off an intra-Meadowlands trade since 1983, but Maccagnan is not opposed to breaking the 36-year drought.
“Yeah, I think I would be open to any team that would,” Maccagnan said, when asked specifically about the Giants. “As long as the trade made sense to us, there’s nothing that would stop us from doing that.”
The Jets could be in line for a big haul if one team badly wants Dwayne Haskins or Kyler Murray. Alternatively, they could stand pat and have a chance at players like defensive end Nick Bosa, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, or outside linebacker Josh Allen.
Giants Interested In Nick Foles?
Giants head coach Pat Shurmur says the team will be moving forward with Eli Manning as the starting quarterback, but not everyone is convinced. For weeks, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com (on Twitter) has been hearing that the Giants are very interested in Eagles quarterback Nick Foles. 
[RELATED: Latest On Giants, Odell Beckham Jr.]
For the Giants, it was simply a matter of whether the Eagles would franchise tag the QB or allow him to become a free agent. With Wednesday’s news that the Eagles will allow Foles to explore the open market, the stars could be aligning for the Giants to pursue Foles. Of course, the Manning question still needs answering.
Shurmur coached Foles in Philadelphia, so it would only make sense for the Giants to consider him. Meanwhile, GM Dave Gettleman isn’t ruling out a veteran signing and Foles represents the best free agent QB option by far. Teddy Bridgewater will also hold appeal for teams, but unlike Bridgewater, Foles has recent game tape and a Super Bowl ring on his hand.
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.
Latest On Giants, Odell Beckham Jr.
Despite Dave Gettleman saying in January Odell Beckham Jr. was not on the trade market, rumors persisted about the Giants moving their superstar wide receiver.
Gettleman on Wednesday reaffirmed his stance, saying (via Can Inman of the Bay Area News Group, on Twitter) “We didn’t sign Odell to trade him. That’s all I need to say about that.”
Beckham is barely six months removed from the wideout-record five-year, $90MM deal he signed. As presently structured, Beckham’s deal calls for $21MM in 2019 — the highest of the cap numbers involved with this pact. The Giants have a middling $28MM in cap space, but jettisoning their most proven weapon may not be a good choice considering they are planning to bring Eli Manning back next season.
The Athletic’s Jay Glazer predicted a Beckham trade would occur, and Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson does not believe Gettleman’s language locks down the 26-year-old receiver in the Big Apple. But Gettleman again attempted to fend off the trade talk surrounding Beckham, who remains a popular player in the Giants’ locker room.
Giants Want Eli Manning Back
Giants head coach Pat Shurmur says quarterback Eli Manning will return to the Giants in 2019, as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Things have been trending in that direction, but this marks the first real confirmation we’ve heard on the matter. 
“Well, I think Eli can help us win games,” Shurmur said. “He proved, when the players around him started playing better, that he can play at a very high level and help us win games. Yeah, at this point I want Eli back. He’s back. Get ready to go with him.”
Last season, Manning raised his completion rate to a career-high 66% and his 7.5 yards-per-attempt average was considerably higher than it was in the previous two seasons. He also dropped his interceptions total (11) to the lowest its been during his 14 seasons a full-time starter. The Giants also won four of five games during a midseason stretch behind improved play from Manning.
If Manning is on the Giants’ roster on March 15 – and it sounds like he will be – he’ll receive a $5MM roster bonus. His 2019 cap figure is set to be $23.2MM, which is no longer a top number for QBs.
Giants To Hire Everett Withers As DBs Coach
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Giants are expected to hire Everett Withers as their new DBs coach. Withers spent the last three seasons as the head coach of Texas State and had previously agreed to become the defensive coordinator for Florida International in 2019. He will take over for Lou Anarumo, who left Big Blue to become the Bengals’ DC.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic believes the 49ers would jump at the chance to trade for Odell Beckham Jr. if the Giants actually make him available, but Barrows is more skeptical about San Francisco’s interest in Antonio Brown. It has been rumored that Brown’s preferred destination is the 49ers, but Barrows says San Francisco would only be a serious suitor for Brown if the Steelers’ trade demands are modest. Of course, we recently heard that Pittsburgh may not get more than a third-round pick for AB, so maybe that is modest enough for the Niners to take the plunge.
Buccaneers Offered Third-Rounder For Landon Collins In 2018
Prior to the 2018 trade deadline, the struggling Giants made multiple deals to collect future draft capital. They dealt Damon Harrison and Eli Apple and received fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks in those exchanges.
However, the Buccaneers were willing to give up a better pick for Landon Collins. Near the deadline, Tampa Bay offered a third-round choice for the All-Pro safety, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reports. The Bucs did not profile as buyers last season but identified Collins as a player they wanted to keep around long-term, rather than a contract-year rental player, per Vacchiano.
While Tampa Bay has a new coaching staff, GM Jason Licht remains in place. He traded a 2018 third-round pick to the Giants for Jason Pierre-Paul. The Bucs could be a Collins suitor in free agency. They are still in need of help at a few spots on defense. After allowing the most passing yards in 2017, the Bucs’ defense yielded the 26th-most in 2018.
However, the Giants may prevent that from happening. They are still expected to place the franchise tag on the three-time Pro Bowler, but an extension may be difficult. A Collins tag would cost the Giants more than $11MM, and with no known negotiations having taken place since he became extension-eligible last year, this could become a reluctant rental situation. If tagged, Collins is pondering a holdout.
Just 25, Collins would stand to pursue a top-end safety pact, with Vacchiano noting this could eclipse $12MM per year and surpass $20MM guaranteed. The Giants have $28MM-plus in cap space — 16th in the league — and needs exist at several spots on Big Blue’s defense.