Dez Bryant Works Out With Giants' OBJ
Dez Bryant took to Instagram to post a video of him working out with Giants star Odell Beckham Jr., fueling speculation that he could land with the Giants. Bryant has been vocal about his desire to sign with the G-Men, but it’s not clear if that interest is being reciprocated by GM Dave Gettleman.
Dez Bryant took to Instagram to post a video of him working out with Giants star Odell Beckham Jr., fueling speculation that he could land with the Giants. Bryant has been vocal about his desire to sign with the G-Men, but it’s not clear if that interest is being reciprocated by GM Dave Gettleman.
Earlier this week, Brandon Marshall posted – then deleted – a post of his own on Instagram in which he informed Bryant that there was “no room” for him in the Giants’ locker room. Days later, the Giants released Marshall, so there could be room for the three-time Pro Bowler in New York after all.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/19/18
Here are today’s minor moves.
Detroit Lions
- Waived: CB Adairius Barnes
New York Giants
- Waived: T Jessamen Dunker
McShay: "Inevitable" Giants Take Barkley
The Giants brought Barkley in for a visit, and their coaching staff is sold on the Penn State standout. The Giants have been linked to Sam Darnold at No. 2, if he’s there, for a while. But Barkley’s name has come up in recent days as well. While the Alvin Kamara/Kareem Hunt offensive rookie of the year debate showed how top-end backs can be acquired later in the draft, but McShay added Barkley “is different” than the type of back that can be acquired in later rounds. In Dave Gettleman‘s previous draft as a Giants exec, the Giants used their No. 32 overall pick on David Wilson in 2012, and an injury shortened his career to just two seasons. The team’s previous such investment came in 2000, when the then-Ernie Accorsi-led Giants took Ron Dayne at No. 7. Gettleman was in his second year as Big Blue’s pro personnel director at that point.
No running back has gone in the top two of a draft since Reggie Bush 12 years ago, but the Giants may be leaning toward using their top offseason investment on a ball-carrier that’s been labeled as one of the highest-ceiling backs to emerge in many years.
“I’ve heard really strongly that there are important people in that building who believe in Saquon Barkley the player, that that’s what they want to be,” ESPN’s Todd McShay said, via Tom Rock of Newsday. “The Giants want to be a run-first, physical football team and Saquon can basically be the face of that franchise moving forward several years. … It just feels to me like it’s inevitable that Saquon Barkley is going to be a New York Giant.”
The Giants brought Barkley in for a visit, and their coaching staff is sold on the Penn State standout. The Giants have been linked to Sam Darnold at No. 2, if he’s there, for a while. But Barkley’s name has come up in recent days as well. While the Alvin Kamara/Kareem Hunt offensive rookie of the year debate showed how top-end backs can be acquired later in the draft, but McShay added Barkley “is different” than the type of back that can be acquired in later rounds. In Dave Gettleman‘s previous draft as a Giants exec, the Giants used their No. 32 overall pick on David Wilson in 2012, and an injury shortened his career to just two seasons. The team’s previous such investment came in 2000, when the then-Ernie Accorsi-led Giants took Ron Dayne at No. 7. Gettleman was in his second year as Big Blue’s pro personnel director at that point.
- If Josh Allen goes No. 1 overall to the Browns, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News isn’t sold that on the Giants wanting Darnold at No. 2. Instead, he envisions a scenario in which the Giants trade down with the Bills to acquire the No. 12 and No. 22 picks plus one of the Bills’ second rounders (Nos. 53 or 56). There is apparently a split in the front office over the team’s evaluation of Darnold, though it should be noted that GM Gettleman never traded down in the first round while in Carolina. In this scenario, Mehta believes the Jets will select Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield at No. 3 over Josh Rosen.
- Could the release of Brandon Marshall lead the Giants to Dez Bryant? When asked about the possibility of signing the former Cowboys star, Gettleman didn’t close the door. “I have interest in everybody,” Gettleman said (via Danny Abriano of SNY.tv). “We do our film work. You never know.” The Giants may lead the pack in terms of teams Bryant wants to land with, having made it clear he wants revenge against the Cowboys.
Giants Release WR Brandon Marshall
The Giants released wide receiver Brandon Marshall with a failed physical designation, GM Dave Gettleman announced. Marshall was set to enter the final year of a two-year, $12MM contract signed in 2017. 
By releasing the veteran, the G-Men will save $5.1MM against the salary cap. Marshall, 34, feels that he has multiple seasons left in the tank, but the Giants do not concur. At least, they did not feel that Marshall had enough juice to justify his salary.
“I’m all-in on football. I’ve rebuilt my body,” Marshall said in December. “I think I’m two great years away from — and I’ll say it, I want to be a Hall of Famer, and I think I got two great years to go to be mentioned with some of the greats. I’m not just playing this game just to be a guy; I want to be remembered for the product that I put out on the field.”
Marshall was one of several Giants receivers to succumb to injury in 2017 as he missed the bulk of the year after undergoing ankle surgery. He topped 1,500 yards in his 2015 season with the Jets, but he has not been able to reprise that production. In 2016, he had just 59 catches for 788 yards and three touchdowns, a big step back from the previous year in which he had a league-leading 14 TDs.
Earlier this week, Marshall took to social media to inform free agent Dez Bryant that there is “no room” for him in New York. The Giants now have the necessary space – from both financial and football perspectives – to add Bryant, if they wish. For his part, Bryant is eager to join up with the Giants and exact revenge on his former employers.
Brandon Marshall Doesn't Want Dez Bryant On Giants
Dez Bryant wants to sign with the Giants after being released by the division-rival Cowboys last week, but a current New York wideout isn’t on board with that idea. In a now-deleted Instagram story, Giants receiver Brandon Marshall said there was “no room” for Bryant on Big Blue’s roster, as Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post writes. Marshall, for his part, bombed during his first campaign in New York, as an ankle injury limited him to just five games and 18 receptions. Viewed as a possible cap casualty heading into the offseason, Marshall has surprisingly stuck on the Giants’ roster to this point. New York could still release Marshall at any point, however, and doing so would save the club in excess of $5MM in cap space.
Dez Bryant Wants To Sign With Giants
Dez Bryant is out for revenge. The former Cowboys wide receiver went on record with Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan to express his desire to play for a Dallas rival. 
“I’m kinda hoping it’s an NFC East team,” Bryant said. “If it’s somewhere else, that’s fine. But I’d like to play the Cowboys twice.”
Not all of the Cowboys’ divisional rivals make sense for Bryant, however. The Redskins, who already have Josh Doctson, Jamison Crowder, and Paul Richardson, do not have him on their radar. And while it’s fun to think about the defending champions adding Bryant to the fold, the Eagles don’t have enough wiggle room under the cap to make that happen. That leaves the Giants, and Bryant is intrigued by their roster.
“The Giants got a helluva defense, they’re going to pay [Odell Beckham Jr.] Playing with him, Sterling Shepard, the tight end [Evan Engram], Eli Manning? Crazy,” Bryant said. “They draft (Penn State running back) Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick)? That’d be crazy!”
Fisher personally gets the sense that the Giants would be Bryant’s No. 1 choice. It remains to be seen whether Giants GM Dave Gettleman feels the same way about Bryant and whether he’s willing to bring such a bold personality into his locker room.
NFL Draft Rumors: Guice, Redskins, Patriots, Bills, Giants, Darnold
Running back Derrius Guice visited the Redskins at their team facility on Monday, a source tells John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Redskins have been public about their desire to add a pass-catching running back and Guice, with 18 catches last year at LSU, would fit the bill.
With needs to address on the other side of the ball, many believe that the Redskins will take a defensive player at No. 13 overall. However, the Redskins could probably trade back into the early 20s to take Guice and address their defensive holes later on.
Here’s the latest round of NFL draft news:
- The Patriots hosted UCLA left tackle Kolton Miller on a pre-draft visit, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets.
- Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen met with the Bills on Monday and will travel to the Giants on Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Meanwhile, USC QB Sam Darnold met with the Giants on Monday and will meet with the Jets on Tuesday.
- Linebacker Rashaan Evans visited the Bengals on Monday, Rapoport tweets. The Bengals own the No. 21 pick in the draft, which could allow them to snag the Alabama standout.
- Speaking of Alabama, Rapoport also notes that standout defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne met with the Redskins on Monday. Payne has shot up draft boards in recent weeks thanks to his remarkable strength. “He’s the best. He’s the best I’ve seen,”Alabama strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran said earlier this year. “I’ve never seen a guy hit 385 on the power clean every single year. His first year he hit 365 on the power clean and it was like wow, freshman, that’s incredible.”
- USC running back Ronald Jones visited the Patriots on Monday, Rapoport tweets. Within the same tweet, he notes that Stanford safety Justin Reid visited the Panthers before heading off to his Steelers visit.
- Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson took a pre-draft visit to meet with the 49ers on Monday, a league source told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. The 49ers have the ninth pick in the first round and Jackson is projected to come off the board as a middle-to-late first-round pick.
- LSU pass-rusher Arden Key visited the Bears on Monday, Rapoport tweets. He also notes Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller visited the Redskins on Monday and Tulane cornerback Parry Nickerson visited the Raiders.
Latest On Giants At No. 2
With the Browns likely to take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick of the upcoming draft, the Giants are generating a lot of discussion, as they could go in any number of directions with their No. 2 overall selection. According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, the team is looking increasingly unlikely to take a signal-caller with that pick. 
Though the MMQB’s Albert Breer notes general manager Dave Gettleman likes Sam Darnold and the coaches like Josh Allen, Schwartz cites a national scout who pegs Saquon Barkley as the pick.
“I thought all along this is the guy Dave wants,” the scout said. “And he might get him, if Cleveland is dumb enough not to take him at No. 1.”
The Penn State back is considered by the Giants to be a better player than the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott, who was the No. 4 overall pick in 2016. Schwartz says Barkley’s lack of off-the-field concerns and his ability to contribute in the passing game make him a solid selection at No. 2.
However, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com says he has been hearing more and more whispers that the Giants could trade the No. 2 selection (Twitter link). The Bills are one team that other writers believe could be the Giants’ trading partner in that scenario, as Buffalo could grab its quarterback of the future and New York could add a significant amount of draft capital while still being in position to select a top-flight player in the first round. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, meanwhile, hears that all options are on the table for Big Blue’s top pick, including a trade, a QB, Barkley, Bradley Chubb, and even Quenton Nelson (Twitter link).
Schwartz does name Chubb as a potential candidate for the Giants’ No. 2 pick, and Gettleman’s history would lend credence to that theory, as the former Panthers GM took defensive linemen with his first two picks with that franchise.
But Schwartz, unlike Miller, does not believe Nelson will be in play if the Giants keep their pick. Though he is a top-three player on their board, Schwartz hears that Nelson will only be considered in a trade-down scenario.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
East Notes: Amendola, Cowboys, Giants, Dez, Jonathan Allen
After playing five seasons with the Patriots, receiver Danny Amendola signed with the rival Dolphins in the 2018 offseason. The move happened, in part, because New England did not come close to matching the two-year, $12MM deal he received from Miami, the receiver told Jimmy Hascup of USA Today.
After taking pay cuts in the past to stay with the Patriots, the veteran wideout was expecting to have a chance to stay with the team. That did not happen with the notoriously stingy Bill Belichick.
“When free agency broke, I came to the realization that he wasn’t going to really come close to any of the other offers I had,” Amendola said. “I had to make a decision for my family and go down to Miami and continue my career there.”
Amendola also commented on playing for Belichick, saying, “It’s not easy, that’s for sure. He’s an (expletive) sometimes,” Amendola said. “There were a lot of things I didn’t like about playing for him, but I must say, the things I didn’t like were all in regards to getting the team better, and I respected him.”
Here’s more from around the East:
- The Cowboys will be looking for a new go-to receiver after the departure of Dez Bryant. One of those candidates is Terrance Williams, who will be ready for work in June after recovering from a broken foot earlier in the offseason, ESPN’s Todd Archer writes. Though he will be ready to go, Williams is best used as a No. 2 or 3 wideout due to his inconsistency.
- Speaking of Bryant, the receiver reportedly left his meeting with Jerry Jones saying he would see the team twice next season. If he is going to join a division foe, the Giants seem like an unlikely spot, SportsNet New York’s Ralph Vacchiano writes. The team’s depth at receiver with Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shephard seems to indicate there is no room for Bryant.
- The Redskins are expected to have defensive tackle Jonathan Allen when the team resumes activities next week, NBC Sports’ JP Finlay writes. He suffered a Lisfranc injury in Week 5 of 2017 and did not play the rest of the season. A healthy Allen could helped Washington improve on its last-ranked run defense in 2017.
Giants Coaches Intrigued By Josh Allen
- The other team that’s possibly eyeing a quarterback but isn’t certain to select one with its top-five pick, the Giants may have a bit of a divide about which one they prefer. They’ve been connected to Sam Darnold for weeks, and Breer notes Dave Gettleman is indeed high on the 20-year-old USC product. But he adds Giants coaches have expressed support for Josh Allen. While running back might not be the best investment with a No. 2 overall choice, Breer notes the Giants’ coaching staff and front office contingents are sold on Saquon Barkley. The Penn State standout visited the Giants earlier this week.