Giants, Seahawks Discussing Kam Chancellor
Stricken with injuries at safety, the Giants are setting their sights on one of the game’s best.
The Giants engaged in discussions with the Seahawks about a trade for Kam Chancellor, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reports. Chancellor’s missed all of the Seahawks’ preseason work due to a contentious holdout.
Raanan points out a deal for the 27-year-old Chancellor would likely cost the Giants two high draft choices.
While the need is there and the player would certainly fill it, the Seahawks are not exactly clamoring to trade their strong safety. The Giants and other teams have asked about Chancellor but have been told he’s not getting traded, per ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link).
Continuing the impasse, the Seahawks haven’t granted their disgruntled safety permission to speak with other teams, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora (on Twitter).
We heard earlier today the Seahawks are exploring trades for veteran safeties, with the availability of its own in question. Earl Thomas is expected to play soon but is coming off a serious shoulder malady.
Unhappy with the four-year, $28MM deal he signed in 2013, Chancellor has been reported to be “dug in” on his holdout, which could increase Seattle’s efforts to facilitate a trade unless it wants to set a precedent of surrendering cash with this much time left on a deal.
The Seahawks have signed many of their holdovers in recent years and could set course down a slippery slope if they appease Chancellor.
Big Blue’s lost four safeties — Mykkele Thompson, Nat Berhe, Justin Currie and Bennett Jackson — to season-ending injuries, and Landon Collins sprained his MCL during preseason play. The Giants signed Brandon Merriweather and Stevie Brown as bandaids at this position.
Giants Trim Roster To 53 Players
The Giants have been one of the more interesting teams to watch, as cuts are made from 75 players to 53 — New York released several notable veteran players, including wide receiver James Jones, fullback Henry Hynoski, punter Steve Weatherford, and linebackers Jameel McClain and Ashlee Palmer.
In a press release today, the club confirmed those moves, along with the decision to place safety Nat Berhe on injured reserve, and announced the rest of the transactions made to get the roster down to 53 players. Here are those moves:
Released:
- CB Chykie Brown
- S Jeromy Miles
Waived:
- DL Brad Bars
- K Chris Boswell
- OL Emmett Cleary
- DB C.J. Conway
- OL Sean Donnelly
- LB Cole Farrand
- DB Chandler Fenner
- OL Adam Gettis
- DL Dominique Hamilton
- RB Kenneth Harper
- TE Adrien Robinson
- WR Julian Talley
Waived/injured:
- WR Corey Washington (shoulder)
Placed on injured reserve:
- OL Brett Jones (knee)
Giants To Cut Jameel McClain
The Giants are planning to release Jameel McClain, according to Patricia Traina of Bleacher Report (on Twitter).
Despite registering a career-high 75 tackles last season in starting 14 games, McClain is now apparently expendable, with the Giants confident Jon Beason will be ready for the season, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
The Giants can save $3.1MM by cutting McClain, who was due to make $3.4MM in his eighth season.
Mark Herzlich and Uani Unga are also going to make the 53-man roster, Vacchiano notes.
The 30-year-old McClain served as key insurance for the oft-injured Beason and has started for five seasons now, the previous four with the Ravens from 2010-13 after coming into the league as an undrafted free agent.
Giants’ Nat Berhe Done For Season
SEPTEMBER 5: Berhe has confirmed on Twitter that his season is over and that he’ll be heading to injured reserve.
AUGUST 27: The Giants’ secondary just can’t catch a break. Nat Berhe is expected to become the fourth Giants safety to have his season end prematurely when he undergoes calf surgery on Friday, two sources tell Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. Berhe took to Twitter earlier this evening to add that the procedure will remove a hardened blood clot from his calf.
Berhe joins Bennett Jackson, Mykkele Thompson, and Justin Currie as Giants safeties whose seasons have ended before they really started. Cooper Taylor now stands as the lone holdover from last season. The Giants added veteran Jeromy Miles before the start of camp and Brandon Meriweather, Justin Halley and C.J. Conway in the past few weeks to beef up the safety position alongside rookie Landon Collins.
Unfortunately for the Giants, there are not a lot of quality outside options at safety. However, safety Jeremy Deering is on the workout trail and one has to wonder if the Giants could schedule an audition with the Rutgers product.
Giants Cut James Jones, Ashlee Palmer
After cutting longtime punter Steve Weatherford earlier this week, the Giants have decided to release a couple more notable veterans. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), New York is parting ways with wide receiver James Jones and linebacker Ashlee Palmer.
Jones, who confirmed the move in a text message to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter links), added: “I’m good at this point. I don’t know who wants me. I’ll be playing somewhere though hopefully.” One potential destination for the veteran receiver could be Green Bay, where the Packers have seen Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb get injured this preseason. While Cobb is expected to be back for Week 1 or shortly thereafter, Nelson is done for the year.
As for Palmer, his stint with the Giants didn’t last long. The veteran linebacker, who started 15 games for the Lions over the last two seasons, just signed with New York on August 24.
The Giants also cut fullback Henry Hynoski earlier today.
Giants Cut Henry Hynoski
As part of their cutdown to 53 players, the Giants have released veteran fullback Henry Hynoski, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The move would seem to indicate that fullback Nikita Whitlock will make the club’s 53-man squad, as Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News tweets.
Hynoski, 26, has spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Giants. While the big fullback only has 12 carries during that span, he’s considered one of the league’s better blocking fullbacks, ranking second in the category in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required).
When Hynoski re-signed with the Giants back in March, his two-year deal with the team included a signing bonus worth $250K, along with a $250K guarantee on his 2015 salary. Since that contract also featured a $25K workout bonus, New York will have to carry a $400K dead money hit for 2015, with $125K in dead money on the 2016 books.
Extra Points: Ball, Patriots, Giants, Savage
Vic Lombardi of CBS4 and Benjamin Allbright of AM1340 in Denver (Twitter links) have heard that the Cowboys and Broncos are discussing a potential trade involving running back Montee Ball, who has slipped down the depth chart in Denver. However, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link) cites a Cowboys source who says no trade talks are occurring, and Star-Telegram colleague Charean Williams tweets that Dallas would likely only be interested in Ball if he’s released.
The Cowboys have been adamant throughout the offseason that they likes their running backs, though acquiring Ball on the cheap seems more like a more realistic option for the team than signing a veteran free agent.
As we wait to see if anything materializes for the Cowboys, let’s round up some odds and ends from around the NFL…
- As expected, the Patriots don’t intend to try to recoup the $1MM fine or the two draft picks they lost as a result of DeflateGate, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Team owner Robert Kraft made the decision months ago not to fight the penalties, and even after Tom Brady‘s win in court, it would be a major uphill battle, since teams aren’t protected by the same CBA rules as players.
- The Giants will spend the next couple days looking for safeties, either via trades or waiver claims, according to Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That’s no surprise, considering the position looked a little thin even before the team lost several safeties to injuries.
- The Texans got some good news on quarterback Tom Savage, who left Thursday’s game with a shoulder injury. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), Savage just sustained a severe sprain, and won’t require surgery. Houston’s third-string QB is expected to miss at least four to six weeks, and head coach Bill O’Brien indicated today that the club will consider signing another QB for the roster or practice squad (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle).
- Asked if the Cardinals have any interest in their former defensive lineman Darnell Dockett, who was released today by the 49ers, head coach Bruce Arians said his club isn’t interested “at this point,” per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link).
- Former Bears long snapper Rick Lovato is trying out for the Dolphins, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
Giants Acquire Brad Wing From Steelers
11:32am: The Steelers will get a conditional seventh-round pick for 2016 in exchange for Wing, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
10:41am: Shortly after having released veteran punter Steve Weatherford, the Giants have identified his apparent replacement. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the team has worked out a trade with the Steelers, acquiring punter Brad Wing in exchange for a late-round draft pick.
Wing, 24, punted 61 times for the Steelers in his rookie season in 2014, recording 43.7 yards per punt and a net average of 38.6 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly high on the LSU product’s performance, ranking him 28th out of the league’s 32 regular punters, with a -7.6 grade (subscription required).
Because he was only an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason, Wing is on a minimum salary deal, which works out to $510K for a player with his experience. His contract expires at the end of the 2015 season, but he won’t be able to hit the open market if the Giants want to keep him, since he’s set to be an ERFA again.
Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News first reported that the Giants were discussing a Wing deal with Pittsburgh.
Giants Cut Steve Weatherford
10:35am: According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Giants are discussing acquiring punter Brad Wing in a deal with the Steelers, though nothing is finalized yet.
10:20am: The Giants appear to be on the lookout for a new punter, as Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter) that the club has parted ways with veteran Steve Weatherford. New York also cut Robert Malone earlier this week, so the latest move leaves the team without a punter on its roster.
Weatherford, who turns 33 in December, spent the first five years of his NFL career with a handful of different teams before finding a more permanent home with the Giants in 2011. The Illinois product has been the team’s punter for each of the last four seasons, ranking 25th out of the league’s 32 qualified players at the position in 2015, per Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required).
Earlier in the week, head coach Tom Coughlin strongly hinted that outside help would likely be brought in to challenge Weatherford for the Giants’ punting job this year.
“Well, there’s a game to go, and it’s going to be a competitive thing,” Coughlin said. “Not necessarily with the guys that are here. That goes for any position. Any position. People have to understand that. You’re not competing just against the guys here, you’re competing against the waiver wire.”
Jason Pierre-Paul Expects To Play Early This Season
Jason Pierre-Paul plans to return to the Giants next week and expects to be able to play early on in the season, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) adds that the Giants will examine JPP’s hand to determine when he’ll actually be able to get back on the field.
Pierre-Paul had a strong 2014 campaign with 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles and was the league’s seventh-best 4-3 defensive end according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). At the end of the season, JPP found himself entangled in a contract dispute with the Giants. The Giants slapped the defensive end with a one-year, $14.813MM franchise tender to keep him, but Pierre-Paul was fighting for a lucrative long-term deal. Big Blue reportedly came to the table with a ~$60MM offer, but Pierre-Paul turned it down.
In July, of course, things took a bizarre and unfortunate turn when JPP lost a finger in a fireworks accident. Since then, Pierre-Paul has been rather distant from the organization and even from his teammates. Despite the frosty summer between the two parties, the Giants are undoubtedly ecstatic to have their star defensive lineman back in the fold. Outside of JPP, the Giants don’t have any players who have recorded more than 7.0 sacks in a season.