Giants Offering Johnathan Hankins $28MM
Over a month since the start of free agency, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins surprisingly remains available, having not found any offers to his liking. The Giants, with whom Hankins spent the first four seasons of his career, have had an offer on the table to re-sign him since before the market opened. It turns out it’s a four-year, $28MM proposal, reports Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
It’s unclear exactly how much guaranteed money Big Blue is including in its offer, but Schwartz notes that it’s similar to the pact fellow D-tackle Nick Fairley signed with the Saints last month. Fairley’s contract, also worth $28MM over four years, includes $14MM in guarantees. While such a deal hasn’t appealed to Hankins, it’s fair to call it a generous offer at this stage of free agency. A source Schwartz spoke to agrees, saying, “At some point, you got to be pragmatic about it.”
Hankins, whom most teams view as a two-down player, has generated little legitimate interest outside of New York this offseason. Both the Dolphins and the Colts have kicked the tires, but the former would only add him as a rotational player and the latter is uninterested in his asking price, which started out at $15MM per year before quickly dropping to $10MM annually, according to Schwartz.
While Hankins, 25, is coming off the second 16-start season of his four-year career, he has racked up just three sacks (all in 2016) since a seven-sack 2014. He also ranked a subpar 72nd in overall performance among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen last season. As such, the Giants don’t regard him as a must-sign player, relays Schwartz, who writes that the team could rescind the offer if it addresses the middle of its D-line in the draft.
Giants To Host Cam Robinson
- Like Foster, fellow Alabama alum Cam Robinson has visited a number of clubs already in the draft process, and he has a meeting planned with the Giants, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. New York already has Ereck Flowers at left tackle, but the team has made no promises that Flowers is their long-term blindside protector. I sent Robinson to the Giants at No. 23 in PFR’s first 2017 mock draft. The Ravens have also hosted Robinson, per Wilson.
Is TE O.J. Howard Atop Giants Draft Board?
Due to his ability to block and catch passes, Alabama tight end O.J. Howard is likely on top of the Giants draft board, surmises ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan. The organization is also high on Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey.
Opinion: Giants Will Select Cam Robinson At No. 23 If Available
- The Giants are in desperate need of a quality offensive tackle, and Paul Schwartz of the New York Post says the team will certainly select Alabama OT Cam Robinson if he is still available when the Giants are on the clock in the first round. Otherwise, Schwartz suggests New York could wait until the second round and hope Western Michigan’s Taylor Moton or Western Kentucky’s Forrest Lamp (who projects as more of a guard in the NFL) is still on the board.
Latest On Owa Odighizuwa
- Defensive end Owa Odighizuwa is still a member of the Giants, as franchise owner John Mara told reporters, including Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (Twitter link). Mara added he “doesn’t think” Odighizuwa will follow through on his apparent retirement plans. The 25-year-old defender has posted a cryptic series of tweets in recent days, first indicating that he’d step away from the NFL, then saying he’s “grateful to be part of Big Blue.” Fellow Giants players aren’t sure exactly what’s going on with Odighizuwa, although some observers believe he’s dealing with “personal” problems.
Giants To Meet With David Njoku
- Miami tight end David Njoku is scheduled to visit with the Saints, Browns, and Giants, as Njoku said during an appearance on Pro Football Talk Live. New York, specifically, could be an intriguing landing spot for Njoku, and Big Blue is reportedly “very high” on the 20-year-old pass-catcher. Widely viewed as the draft’s second-best tight end behind Alabama’s O.J. Howard, Njoku will likely be a first-round selection. He’s also been linked to the Buccaneers, Titans, and Panthers.
Latest On Owa Odighizuwa
- After indicating he was stepping away from the NFL on Monday, Giants defensive end Owa Odighizuwa tweeted Tuesday that he’s “grateful to be part of Big Blue,” but New York sources (and a few Giants teammates) aren’t sure what is going on with the 25-year-old defender, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. While some observers believe Odighizuwa is dealing with “personal” problems, the entire nature of his tweets is still unclear.
Giants’ Odighizuwa Stepping Away From NFL
Giants defensive end Owa Odighizuwa is stepping away from the NFL. The former third-round pick took to Twitter moments ago to announce what could be termed as a soft retirement. 
“I have all love for everyone.. at [this] point [in] time, I believe it’s in my best interest to take some time to get away from the game,” Odighizuwa wrote.
We heard earlier this year that this would be a “do-or-die offseason” for Odighizuwa. The 2015 third-rounder didn’t do much in his two NFL seasons and he acknowledged that he’d have to step it up in order to stick in New York.
“It’s real important for me,” Odighizuwa said. “That’s how I’m approaching it, that it’s kind of do-or-die in terms of my preparation and getting ready. You have to exhaust all of your resources into training properly and getting ready for the year. Really pouring everything you have into preparation.”
Odighizuwa had two years remaining on his Giants contract.
Opinion: Giants After Mid-Round QB
- The Steelers and Giants have been all over quarterback workouts this year and it leads Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) to believe that they’ll each target a QB in the middle rounds.
Giants Interested In Zach Cunningham
- Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham has “attracted the interest” of the Giants, and could be in the mix for New York when it picks at No. 23, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. While the Giants famously haven’t selected a first-round linebacker since 1984, the club needs reinforcements at the position, as Devon Kennard, Keenan Robinson, and Jonathan Casillas isn’t exactly a world-beating starting group. Earlier this year, a scout told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report that Cunningham “needs to gain strength” and “make more tackles.”