Latest On Giants, Johnathan Hankins
The Giants would like to re-sign free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, but they’re unlikely to offer him anything more than a one-year, $4MM deal because of their lack of cap room, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. That probably won’t suffice for Hankins, who’s reportedly seeking upward of $10MM per year. Free agency hasn’t unfolded to Hankins’ liking, and one reason is that some around the NFL don’t see him as “an impact player,” sources told Vacchiano. Hankins went without a sack during a nine-game 2015 campaign and only notched three last year, Vacchiano notes. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed with Hankins’ performance in 2016, as it graded the 24-year-old just 72nd out of 127 qualified interior D-linemen.
Giants To Sign Ex-Jets QB Geno Smith
The Giants are expected to sign former Jets quarterback Geno Smith, according to Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will reunite Smith and wide receiver Brandon Marshall. It’s a one-year deal worth about $2MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
[RELATED: Giants, Jason-Pierre Paul Agree To Multi-Year Deal]
Smith, 26, started one game for the Jets in 2016, but tore his ACL in that October contest and missed the remainder of the season. The former second-round pick has only attempted 56 passes over the past two years.
On Friday morning, the Giants re-signed quarterback Josh Johnson. Right now, it seems like the plan will be for the Giants to have Smith as Eli Manning‘s primary backup with Johnson in the QB3 spot. Of course, a lot can change over the next seven months and Johnson’s place on the roster isn’t a certainty. The Giants could still draft a developmental quarterback to give them another candidate to be Eli’s heir and depending on that QB’s stature, that player could even usurp Smith’s place as the primary understudy.
Smith, of course, has some unpleasant memories in East Rutherford, New Jersey. But, to his credit, he’ll face those nightmares head on and attempt to exorcise those demons in a new uniform.
Smith was PFR’s No. 14 ranked free agent quarterback heading into free agency. Reportedly, the Jets were still open to a reunion if they were unable to find a better option. The Chargers and Browns also had interest.
Giants, Jason Pierre-Paul Agree To Deal
The Giants and star pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul have agreed to terms on a four-year deal, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The new deal should give the Giants some extra breathing room against the salary cap for 2017. His agent has since confirmed the deal via social media.
Pierre-Paul will receive about $17MM/year on the deal and he’ll get $54MM guaranteed, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The deal has a base value of $62MM and can reach up to $66MM through incentives, Rapoport tweets. Rapoport also hears that the deal has $40MM guaranteed, so there is some disparity between the two reports.
[RELATED: Giants To Sign QB Geno Smith]
JPP was slated to be on the books for $16.934MM in 2017, per the terms of the franchise tender. The two sides technically had until July 15 to work out a new contract, but the Giants were eager to get something done sooner so that they could add players in the second wave of free agency. In theory, the Pierre-Paul extension could allow the Giants to retain free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. Hankins has found a much softer market than he expected and the G-Men might be able to afford him now.
Pierre-Paul played in 12 games before being shut down in December with a core muscle injury. All in all, he had seven sacks and three forced fumbles. Pierre-Paul also ranked 13th among Pro Football Focus’ 109 qualified edge defenders and totaled the league’s 15th-most QB hurries (24).
The veteran did not want to receive the franchise tag this year, but the Giants were unwilling to let him test the open market. Last year, the inflated market for defensive ends led to the Giants giving Olivier Vernon a five-year, $85.5MM deal with $52MM in guarantees. Pierre-Paul is three years older than Vernon, but the bidding still would have gotten out of hand for him. Today, the Giants agreed to give JPP a deal for roughly the same average annual value with potentially equal guaranteed money on a per year basis. We’ll have to wait for additional details before fairly grading the deals against each other.
For his career, JPP has 50 sacks and eleven forced fumbles to his credit. He should add even more to that total as he remains with the Giants for his prime years.
Giants Re-Sign QB Josh Johnson
The Giants are re-signing quarterback Josh Johnson, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a two-year deal, according to his agent.
Johnson, 31 in May, has bounced around since leaving the Buccaneers in 2011. Since 2012, Johnson has spent time with the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, 49ers, Colts, Bills, Jets, and Giants. The last time he took the field was in 2013, when he compiled 20 rushing yards on seven carries for Cincinnati. His last NFL start came in 2011 with the Bucs.
Johnson, for now, will occupy the second QB spot on the Giants’ depth chart. Given Eli Manning‘s major struggles last season, I would expect the Giants to seek out a higher-quality QB2 for 2017.
Latest On Free Agent DT Johnathan Hankins
We’re into the second wave of free agency and, surprisingly, defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins remains on the board. Today’s one-year deal between Dontari Poe and the Falcons probably doesn’t bode well for Hankins’ market, yet that apparently hasn’t brought down his asking price. Hankins is asking for more than $10MM per year, sources around the league tell Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Just one week ago, that wouldn’t have been an outlandish ask on the part of Hankins’ camp. Some projections had the Giants standout fetching upwards of $40MM on a five-year deal with a substantial guarantee. However, things have changed. Poe, despite being nearly two years older, is arguably the better player of the two and he found a very mild market when it came to long-term offers. At this point, Hankins’ best bet might be to settle for a deal that mirrors Poe’s. If he plays well, he could get a monster deal next year (or get franchise tagged) when he’s still just 26.
On the first day of free agency, Brandon Williams re-upped with the Ravens on a $54MM deal, including $27MM in guarantees. He must be feeling pretty good about that deal today. Meanwhile, the Giants must be feeling better about their chances of retaining Hankins.
To date, the Redskins and Dolphins have been the only teams to be linked to Hankins. The Redskins have since souped up their interior line in other ways and the Dolphins’ exact level of interest in Hankins is unclear.
Giants Re-Sign OL John Jerry
The Giants are not done spending money on the offensive line. Today, they agreed to terms with offensive lineman John Jerry on a three-year deal worth $10MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The pact includes $4.25MM guaranteed. 
The Giants signed former Chargers offensive lineman D.J. Fluker to a deal over the weekend. Now, Jerry will return to a unit that has lost Marshall Newhouse to the Raiders. Veteran Will Beatty reportedly is not expected to return.
Jerry, 30, started all 16 games for the Giants last season, lining up at right guard. It seems likely that he’ll reprise that role in 2017. The rest of the line, however, remains in flux. It’s not clear where left tackle Ereck Flowers will play and Fluker is not guaranteed a starting job. The only offensive lineman who have secured starting roles, reportedly, are Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg.
Giants To Retain RB Shane Vereen
Shane Vereen appears set to return to the Giants in 2017. New York will pay the running back’s $500K roster bonus by the Monday deadline, a source familiar with the the team’s thinking tells Kimberly Jones of NFL Network (on Twitter). 
Vereen joined up with the G-Men before the 2015 season and caught 59 passes in his first year with the team. Unfortunately, he missed the majority of last season after tearing a triceps muscle on two separate occasions. All in all, he had 33 carries for 158 yards and one score plus 11 catches for 94 yards across five games. The Giants know what the 28-year-old is capable of when healthy, so they will retain him for 2017.
After dropping Rashad Jennings in February, the Giants are left with Paul Perkins, Vereen, Orleans Darkwa, and George Winn at running back. Perkins has promise, but the Giants seem likely to add running back help either in the second wave of free agency or in the draft. Vereen won’t be the workhorse of the group, but he should be used plenty as a pass-catching specialist.
Giants Not Done Adding Offensive Linemen
The Giants signed former Chargers offensive lineman D.J. Fluker to one-year deal yesterday, but the club is still expected to add more pieces to its front five, as Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com details.
Fluker, who agreed to a pact worth roughly $3MM, is likely to remain at guard rather than shift back to tackle (where he began his career). But Fluker is not guaranteed a starting job, nor is any other Giants offensive lineman outside of Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg, according to Raanan. New York is still considering where to play incumbent left tackle Ereck Flowers, leaving the rest of the line in flux.
Free agent guard John Jerry could return to Big Blue, as Raanan reports the “door is not believed to be closed” on a potential reunion. Jerry, 30, started all 16 games for the Giants last season, lining up at right guard. Elsewhere among internal free agents, New York has already seen Marshall Newhouse sign with Oakland, while Will Beatty is not expected to return, per Raanan.
As PFR’s list of the Top 2017 Offensive Free Agents shows, starting options remain unsigned on the open market. At tackle, Ryan Clady, Austin Pasztor, and Andre Smith are still on the board, while T.J. Lang, Jahri Evans, and Tim Lelito are up for grabs on the interior.
Contract Details: Britt, Wagner, Broncos
Let’s take a look at the details of some recently signed free agent contracts:
- Kenny Britt‘s four-year Browns deal will provide the ninth-year wide receiver with $10.5MM fully guaranteed at signing, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Britt will collect $17MM over the first two seasons of this deal, Caplan reports.
- The Lions‘ lavish accord for Ricky Wagner raises the right tackle ceiling, although the base salaries in this contract don’t reflect that early. Wagner will see $3MM in base salary in 2017 and ’18 before those figures spike to $9MM per year from 2019-21, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports. Wagner’s deal provides $17.5MM in true guarantees, with his 2018 salary being fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the ’18 league year, per Birkett. Wagner’s 2019 base salary is guaranteed against injury. He received a $14.5MM signing bonus, while the former Raven’s cap hits will be $5.9MM in each of the next two seasons.
- D.J. Fluker‘s one-year Giants pact is expected to be worth $3MM, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv reports. That’s quite a bit lower than what the Chargers would have paid him ($8.82MM) if they kept him after picking up his fifth-year option.
- Menelik Watson‘s three-year, $18.75MM Broncos accord will give the British blocker $5.375MM in fully guaranteed money at signing, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Watson received a $4MM signing bonus. The former Raider will have a $5.5MM guaranteed-against-injury salary in 2018 and is due a nonguaranteed $5.5MM amount in 2019.
- Ronald Leary‘s four-year contract with the Broncos also comes with a fully guaranteed 2018 salary, which will pay former Cowboy $7.65MM for his age-29 season, per Klis. Leary is slated to make $8.15MM in 2019 and ’20, respectively. His 2019 base salary is guaranteed against injury only, with the ’20 slate being nonguaranteed.
- Russell Shepard‘s three-year Panthers deal will be worth $10.5MM, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. The contract includes a $2MM signing bonus and $2.5MM guaranteed. Laine notes the former Bucs wideout will make $4MM in 2017.
- Sealver Siliga‘s one-year Buccaneers deal can max out at $1.5MM, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The contract contains a $200K signing bonus and a $100K roster bonus for the nomadic defensive lineman.
Giants To Sign D.J. Fluker
The Giants will add former first-round pick D.J. Fluker on a one-year deal, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Fluker visited the team this weekend after seeing the Chargers release him.
New York will add a guard who saw Los Angeles backtrack on its fifth-year option decision from 2016, while Fluker will have a chance to re-establish his value on a team that had a vacancy at right guard. Both the Giants and Patriots expressed interest in Fluker, who started for four seasons in San Diego, but New York’s offensive line had a more obvious hole than did New England’s.
Fluker will likely slide into the right guard slot John Jerry occupied for most of the past three seasons. Jerry is now a UFA. Fluker began his career as the Chargers’ right tackle before moving inside to guard for the 2015 and ’16 seasons. He has not flashed the form the Bolts hoped he would when they drafted him 11th overall in 2013, but he will only be 26 this season.
The Bolts backed out of Fluker’s option, worth $8.82MM, since it was nonguaranteed. The former Alabama blocker will now join a line that saw Justin Pugh make the transition from first-round tackle to standout guard. Fluker graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 54 guard last season — 38 spots behind Pugh — but he made it through 16 games after injuries cost him four in 2015. Fluker has otherwise proven to be durable, playing in 31 of a possible 32 regular-season games during his first two seasons.
It’s not a guarantee just yet the Giants want Fluker at guard. They also have an opening at right tackle after Marshall Newhouse agreed to terms with the Raiders on Friday night.