QB Geno Smith To Visit Giants
Geno Smith is believed to be meeting with the Giants today, reports Art Stapleton of USA Today (via Twitter). This is the first reported visit for the free agent quarterback.
For the second straight season, Smith played sparingly behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick. Since the start of the 2015 season, the former second-rounder has appeared in only three games, completing 62-percent of his passes for 391 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.
His last full season as a starter came in 2014. He led the Jets to a 3-10 record in 13 starts (14 games), completing 59.7-percent of his passes for 2,525 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. The speedy signal-caller added another 238 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Eli Manning is the lone quarterback on the Giants current roster, as both Josh Johnson and Ryan Nassib are unrestricted free agents.
We graded Smith as the 14th-best available quarterback in our free agent positional rankings.
Giants, Patriots Interested In OL D.J. Fluker
Free agent offensive lineman D.J. Fluker had scheduled a visit with the Giants, reports ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter). The reporter notes that the Patriots also have “strong interest” in the guard. The Chargers released the former first-round pick earlier this week.
Instead of comitting $8.82MM to the lineman, the Chargers decided to release the four-year veteran. Fluker only missed five games in four seasons with the organization, starting each of his 59 games. Pro Football Focus wasn’t fond of his 2016 performance, ranking him 54th out of 72 qualified guards.
The website had rated Fluker more favorably when he was a tackle, a position he played during the first two seasons of his career. The rumored teams may be enticed by the 25-year-old’s versatility.
Fluker was listed as an honorable mention in our positional free agent rankings. ESPN’s Josina Anderson previously listed the Saints, Lions, Seahawks, Colts, Vikings, Giants, Cardinals, and Falcons as teams to watch when it came to the lineman.
Giants To Release Will Johnson
The Giants are releasing Will Johnson, the fullback told Dan Duggan of NJ.com. However, the 28-year-old said he could return to the organization on a minimum-salary deal. Johnson had one-year remaining on the two-year, $2.3MM deal he signed last offseason. As Duggan notes, the move will save the Giants about $1MM. 
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirmed the news, adding that a return is possible but he will first explore the market. The move will save $610K against the cap.
The team inked tight end/fullback Rhett Ellison earlier this week, and it was apparent that the team would likely move on from Johnson, who would theoretically play a similar role in the G-Men offense. The fullback didn’t take the field in 2016 as he recovered from “slight nerve damage to the deltoid muscle.” Prior to that, Johnson played four seasons with the Steelers, where he only missed a single game.
Johnson has eight career carries for 14 yards and one touchdown. He’s hauled in another 31 receptions for 235 yards and two scores.
“I’d like to come back, but I know they just signed a guy who basically does the same thing I do, so I don’t know if they even want me back,” Johnson said. “They’re aware that I can sign elsewhere. I plan to shop around. There’s not much of a market for me coming off (injured reserve) for a season. So, we’ll see how things turn out.”
NFC Rumors: Romo, Baker, Jeffery, Eagles
Tony Romo was “never being waived” by the Cowboys, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). We presume the source means “cut” rather than “waived” since vested veterans cannot be waived in the offseason. Word on Wednesday was that the Cowboys would release Romo, allowing him to sign with another club. Then, on Thursday, it was reported that the Cowboys were expecting to trade the quarterback to the Broncos or Texans. For now, things remain in a holding pattern for Romo.
Here’s more from around the league on Day 1 of official free agency.
- The Redskins did not end up making an offer to Chris Baker, who agreed to a deal with the Buccaneers, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com tweets. Baker joined DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon as higher-end free agents who left Washington this week.
- Alshon Jeffery looks to be a believer in Carson Wentz. The sixth-year wideout turned out a turned down a multiyear deal with greater security from the Vikings to sign with the Eagles, Ian Rapoport tweets.
- Torrey Smith‘s Eagles deal is for one year and $5MM, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (on Twitter), adding that the contract contains two option years. Both option years are worth $5MM apiece. Smith will collect a $500K bonus from what will be his third NFL employer.
- Chance Warmack signed with the Eagles for one year and $1.51MM, per Pelissero (on Twitter). This looks like a value-re-establishing season for the former Titans first-rounder, who will receive a $500K signing bonus.
- The Seahawks‘ Luke Joeckel deal is for one year and up to $8MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. The guaranteed money here isn’t known yet, but Joeckel could do well for himself after seeing seeing the Jaguars pass on his 2017 option in 2016 and then going on IR.
- New Giants wide receiver Brandon Marshall said four teams were on his top tier in terms of giving him the best chance to win: the Giants, Patriots, Steelers and Seahawks, per Art Stapleton of The Record (on Twitter). Marshall has never made the playoffs in 11 seasons. The Giants made their first playoff berth in five years in 2016.
Sam Robinson contributed to this report.
Giants To Sign Rhett Ellison
Rhett Ellison received interest from the Jaguars and Giants and opted for New York. The tight end signed a four-year deal worth $18MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. He will receive $8MM fully guaranteed at signing.
The Jaguars have outbid other suitors for big targets on Thursday but did not secure this mid-tier free agent, with the Giants agreeing to pay Ellison just less than $5MM per year. Both were interested in Ellison for around this price. Ellison, though, hasn’t proven too much in his career to date.
Operating as an auxiliary player in the Vikings’ offense behind Kyle Rudolph, Ellison has just 51 career catches in four seasons. Pro Football Focus graded him better as a blocker than receiver.
The Giants did not receive much from their tight ends last season, but Will Tye still snagged 48 passes for 398 yards. New York was also in on Martellus Bennett, who remains unsigned.
Giants, JPP Won’t Do Extension Today
The Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul could still hammer out a cap-smoothing extension, but it won’t happen today, according to Seth Walder of the Daily News. 
The deadline for a new deal isn’t until July 15th, so there’s still plenty of time. However, the Giants would probably like to clear out that space today so that they can do a little extra work on the free agent market.
As it stands, JPP is slated to be on the books for $16.934MM in 2017. Given that they have already added a decent-sized contract in Brandon Marshall, the Giants don’t have very much space to work with. No one expected the G-Men to go on a shopping spree like they did one year ago, but multiple holes still need to be addressed on both sides of the ball. Right now, it looks like they’ll focus more on the draft to get those upgrades.
Pierre-Paul played in 12 games before his 2016 ended in December on account of core muscle surgery, though he showed well with 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).
Free Agency Rumors: Titans, Hightower, Rams
Let’s round up some of the latest free agency rumors:
- The talk of the Titans pursuing linebacker Dont’a Hightower might not be at the levels some have reported, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com tweets. Hightower stands as one of the best free agents left on the board.
- Not a huge surprise, but the Rams are not expected to bring back safety T.J. McDonald, ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. I have McDonald ranked as the No. 40 free agent on my Top 50 list, in terms of earning power. He’s not my favorite safety in this year’s free agent crop, but he is young and his hard-hitting style should translate into dollars.
- Despite formally declining his option on Thursday, the Chiefs have expressed interest in retaining quarterback Nick Foles, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
- There are still plenty of teams sorting through the offensive tackle market, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. That list includes the Chargers, Jets, Vikings, Giants, and Broncos. It should be noted that JLC’s tweet came before Denver’s acquisition of Ronald Leary. It’s not immediately clear if they’re still looking for high-end linemen.
- Russell Okung probably goofed by not having an agent last offseason, but he has one now, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). Cole does not identify the rap by name, but says that he has talked with teams and is not NFLPA-certified.
- Packers free agent guard T.J. Lang is likely going to have to take some trips before signing, Cole tweets. He had hip surgery in January and teams want to check that out before signing him. This jibes with earlier word that Lang will have to wait a bit before signing elsewhere.
Giants, Jaguars Eyeing Rhett Ellison
The Giants and Jaguars are interested in tight end/fullback Rhett Ellison, who could be looking at a $5MM annual salary, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com and Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links).
$5MM would represent a significant raise for Ellison, who re-signed with the Vikings in 2016 for just $1.75MM. Ellison, 28, has averaged just 10 receptions per season during his five-year run in Minnesota, so it’s certainly surprising that enough clubs’ interest would drive his price into the $5MM area. In 2016, Ellison appeared in 15 games but only secured 14 targets in the passing game.
The Giants are known to be interested in the tight end market, and have been mentioned as a possible suitor for Martellus Bennett and other free agents. The Jaguars, meanwhile, are on the hunt for a tight end after trading Julius Thomas to the Dolphins earlier this year.
Giants To Re-Sign Orleans Darkwa
The Giants will re-sign running back Orleans Darkwa, tweets Kimberley Martin of Newsday. Darkwa was not tendered a restricted free agent contact and is now presumably back on a cheaper deal.
Over the past two seasons, Darkwa has managed 30+ carries per season in New York, but has only managed four yards per carry. The 25-year-old will now head back to the Giants and attempt to carve out a role for the 2017 campaign, a task that may have been made simpler by Big Blue’s release of veteran back Rashad Jennings. Currently, the Giants’ backfield is comprised of Shane Vereen, Paul Perkins, and George Winn.
Ravens Expected To Lose Brandon Williams?
Brandon Williams tenure with the Ravens may be on ice. Although Baltimore is reportedly working to re-sign the veteran defensive tackle, Williams might not return to Baltimore next season, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Still, the Ravens are still “very much” in the mix for Williams, adds Zriebec. The Sun scribe continues that there have been plenty of “rumblings” regarding Williams signing with the Giants, but he’s unsure if a decision has been made.
The 2013 third-round pick has spent his entire four-year career with the Ravens. He’s played in 16 games for each of the past three seasons, and he’s started every game over the past two campaigns. This past season, he collected 51 tackles and one sack. Pro Football Focus graded Williams as the 39th-best defensive tackle last season among 127 eligible candidates. Meanwhile, we ranked Williams as the third-best available defensive tackle.
The Ravens currently have two defensive tackles on their roster in Michael Pierce and Carl Davis. Meanwhile, the Giants are rostering Jay Bromley, Damon Harrison, Anthony Johnson, and Robert Thomas.