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NFL Injury Updates: Penning, Thomas, Seahawks, MNF

September 20th, 2025 at 3:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints have been dealing with multiple injuries on the offensive line this week. In his first season with the team, guard Dillon Radunz has been spot starting in place of presumed starting guard Trevor Penning, who has been dealing with a turf toe injury since the preseason.

Per Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football, Radunz has been ruled out as he deals with a toe injury of his own. Penning, though, may be available to retake a starting spot. The fourth-year lineman hasn’t played yet in 2025, but he returned to practice on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell.

Formerly the Saints’ starting right tackle, Penning was expected to shift into a starting role on the inside as first-round Texas rookie Kelvin Banks took the starting left tackle job, pushing last year’s first-round rookie left tackle, Taliese Fuaga, to the right side of the line. Penning was a limited participant for the rest of the week of practice, and he’s listed as questionable, but with Radunz out, Penning may be challenged to make his season debut.

Fuaga is also listed as questionable, despite not practicing at all this week as he deals with knee and back issues. Joining Radunz with an out designation is defensive end Chase Young, who like Penning, has not played yet this year.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas has yet to play in 2025 as he works his way back from a Lisfranc injury from 2024. The veteran lineman is listed as questionable this week and has been rumored as likely to play. He may be able to do so without fully coming back. Per Ryan Dunleavy of New York Post Sports, Thomas hasn’t “ruled out that he could play in a rotation as he works his way back” with a focus on longevity. The team will see how he feels today before making a final decision on his status for tomorrow, according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, but the idea of using a rotation to ease him in is seemingly gaining popularity.
  • The Seahawks sustained injuries over the last week to running back Zach Charbonnet, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and safety Julian Love. There was worry that each player could be out for an extended period of time, but The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar reports that none of the three are being considered for stints on injured reserve. All three, though, are doubtful to play in Week 3.
  • After tight end Isaiah Likely suffered a foot injury in training camp, the Ravens opted not to place him on any injured lists to avoid a guaranteed four-week absence. The 25-year-old returned to practice this week but won’t be active to play on Monday. They’ll likely aim to have him back in time Week 4. Joining Likely as a scratch this week will be defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Madubuike is dealing with a neck injury, and the team is evaluating some symptoms they’ve seen throughout the week to be safe. Sixth-round rookie Aeneas Peebles is likely to get some increased run this week as a result.
  • As for the other Monday Night Football team, the Lions will be without pass rusher Marcus Davenport for their trip to Baltimore, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Davenport declined to give any details about the nature of his injury, but his arm has been seen in a sling. Whatever the situation, head coach Dan Campbell does not see the situation as season-ending.

NFL DB Injury Updates: Seahawks, Steelers, Gonzalez, Bland, Johnson

September 12th, 2025 at 4:21pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Seahawks are nursing a banged-up secondary heading into Week 2 and will likely be without starting cornerback Devon Witherspoon and first-round safety Nick Emmanwori.

Witherspoon played every snap in Week 1 but didn’t practice this week due to a knee injury. He’s listed as doubtful on Seattle’s injury report and seems very unlikely to take the field. The injury is not thought to be serious, said head coach Mike Macdonald (via Michael Shawn-Dugar of The Athletic).

Emmanwori only played four snaps in his NFL debut before going down with a high ankle sprain. He didn’t participate this week, either, and was ruled out for Sunday’s game. Macdonald added that Emmanwori will avoid injured reserve for right now after mentioning the possibility earlier in the week, per Shawn-Dugar.

Witherspoon’s absence this weekend will force another Seahawks defender to step up in the slot, a decision that will be further complicated with Emmanwori sidelined. He could have been another option at nickel or lined up at safety with Julian Love in the slot; instead, Seattle will have to flip an outside cornerback into the slot or put inexperienced third-year safety Ty Okada on the field.

Here are some other secondary injury updates from around the NFL:

DB Notes: Lassiter, Texans, Colts, Simmons, Davis, Lions, Chiefs, Dolphins, Hawks, Jags

August 20th, 2024 at 3:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Texans showed interest in re-signing Steven Nelson this offseason, but the two-year Houston starter ended up retiring. Houston has identified another clear candidate to start opposite Derek Stingley. The defending AFC South champions are prepared to roll with second-rounder Kamari Lassiter as their No. 2 cornerback. Not much drama exists here, with KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson indicating Lassiter has worked with Houston’s first-team defense since the offseason program. Although Lassiter sustained an ankle injury earlier during training camp, the No. 42 overall pick reclaimed his starter post — ahead of former first-rounders Jeff Okudah and C.J. Henderson — and will be expected to work in tandem with Stingley.

“For a young guy to come in and not be noticed a lot for doing something negative, everything has been positive with Kamari,” Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said. “He’s exactly the guy we saw from the Georgia film.”

Here is the latest from several other DB situations:

  • The Chiefs still need to decide on a No. 2 corner opposite Trent McDuffie. Long known for moving on from corners after one contract (as they most recently did with L’Jarius Sneed), the Chiefs have a few options — most acquired in 2022. Fourth- and seventh-round picks from that draft Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson, who played extensively last year, lead the way. No one has seized the job, per The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, who has 2022 seventh-rounder Nazeeh Johnson, rookie sixth-rounder Kamal Hadden and former Cowboys second-rounder Kelvin Joseph making the team as well (subscription required). Versatile performer Chamarri Conner, a 2023 fourth-rounder, will be in the mix at corner, but Andy Reid said (via Taylor) this could be a rotation into the season.
  • Justin Simmons accepted a one-year, $7.5MM Falcons deal. That price being so far beyond what other veteran safeties commanded confirms a decent market formed for the perennial All-Pro. The Colts‘ questions in the secondary did not lead them into this chase, however, with the Indianapolis Star’s Nate Atkins indicating the team did not make the ex-Bronco an offer. Former third-rounder Nick Cross, recently re-signed veteran Ronnie Harrison and third-year performer Rodney Thomas have rotated in alongside Julian Blackmon in camp. Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds said no safety moves are anticipated.
  • Seeing his three-year contract traded from the Buccaneers to the Lions, Carlton Davis remains scheduled to be a 2025 free agent. Davis will be 27 for most of this season, which should give him a decent market — should no Detroit extension be reached in the meantime — come March. A new agency will be representing the former second-rounder for his next negotiation. Davis is joining Athletes First, per a recent announcement.
  • Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller will start on the boundary for the Dolphins, with former UDFA success story Kader Kohou in place as Miami’s slot defender. Despite Cam Smith being a second-round pick, the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson notes Ethan Bonner — a 2023 UDFA who has stood out in training camp — is the frontrunner to be Miami’s top backup CB. Bonner, who recently returned from a concussion sustained in camp, played only 11 defensive snaps last season. While Smith recently came back after missing nearly three weeks due to injury, ESPN.com’s Marcel Louis-Jacques adds he is week-to-week after sustaining another injury against the Commanders. Despite playing 15 games last season, Smith only saw 20 defensive snaps.
  • The base value on Julian Love‘s second Seahawks contract checks in at $33MM, per OverTheCap. The three-year deal includes $11.97MM guaranteed at signing and dropped Love’s cap number by just more than $1.6MM. Option bonuses (worth a combined $4.8MM) are in place to keep the cap hits lower, with both Love’s 2024 and ’25 cap figures coming in at just over $6MM. Love’s 2025 base salary ($1.2MM) is guaranteed for injury and will shift to a full guarantee five days after Super Bowl LIX, ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson tweets.
  • The Jaguars‘ Tashaun Gipson reunion pact is worth $2.55MM, Wilson tweets. It comes with $525K guaranteed. The Jags will still be shorthanded at safety for a while. In addition to Gipson’s six-week suspension, Doug Pederson said (via ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco) Andrew Wingard‘s recent knee injury will sideline him for at least a few games.

Seahawks, S Julian Love Reach Agreement On Extension

July 24th, 2024 at 10:07pm CST by Ely Allen

After making his first Pro Bowl with the Seahawks last year, safety Julian Love was set to enter the 2024 season on the final year of his contract. It appears that Seattle valued his contribution in 2023 enough to sign Love to a new three-year extension worth up to $36MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Love left Notre Dame after his junior season as a consensus All-American, getting drafted in the fourth round by the Giants in 2019. Over his first three seasons, Love wasn’t viewed as a starter in New York, often sitting behind the likes of Antoine Bethea, Jabrill Peppers, Logan Ryan, and Xavier McKinney. Still, he got a decent amount of playing time with at least five starts in each of those first three years and nabbing one interception in each of those years, as well.

In the final year of his rookie contract, Love finally earned a role as a full-time starter on the Giants defense. Love led the team with a career-high 124 tackles, earning other career highs in interceptions (two), tackles for loss (six), and sacks (one). His efforts earned him a spot in Seattle with a two-year, $12MM contract, despite beliefs in New York that Love would re-sign with the Giants.

Despite seeming to be a superfluous addition to a secondary that already rostered Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, Love found new life in Seattle. In his first season with the Seahawks, Love started 12 games, filling in as an injury replacement for Adams at first, before becoming too crucial to the defense to keep off the field. Love was all over the field on defense, finishing second on the team with 123 tackles, while tallying career highs in interceptions (4) and passes defensed (10). With the releases of both Adams and Diggs, Love will take over alongside newly signed Rayshawn Jenkins as the top safety duo in Seattle this coming season.

Before his new deal, Love was expected to head into the final year of his two-year contract with a cap hit of $8.09MM. Love’s extension will likely lower that figure while rewarding the safety with a new signing bonus. Instead of dealing with free agency next offseason, the two parties will now be tied together through the 2027 NFL season.

Seahawks Rookie CB Devon Witherspoon Competing For Starting Role

June 7th, 2023 at 9:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Seahawks return two starting cornerbacks next year in Michael Jackson and Tariq Woolen, as well as Coby Bryant, who started six games as the team’s primary nickel cornerback last year. Still, Seattle decided to draft Illinois’s Devon Witherspoon as the draft’s first cornerback off the board at No. 5 overall. Despite his high draft pedigree, Witherspoon will have to compete with the incumbent starters to establish his role as a rookie.

The team is currently running Witherspoon in the slot with two former college teammates out of Miami (FL) in Jackson and Artie Burns on the outside, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. Burns is simply filling in for a currently injured Woolen, while Bryant has reportedly been sidelined lately, allowing Witherspoon more time in the slot early.

There are some early ideas out of workouts concerning how the depth chart might shape up. Henderson posits that the team may work with Witherspoon starting on the outside across from a healthy Woolen in base packages. When the defense needs to add an extra defensive back, Witherspoon will shift inside to the slot with Jackson replacing him on the outside.

His spot in the starting lineup isn’t guaranteed, though, as Henderson reports that Jackson is have a strong spring with regular dominant outings in 7-on-7. Jackson was a surprise for the Seahawks’ defense last year, starting every game despite only having appeared in four games in his first three seasons of NFL play before that. Playing alongside the rookies in what was perhaps the league’s least-experienced cornerbacks group, Jackson was third on the team with 75 total tackles, adding an interception, 12 passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. If he continues to impress throughout the summer, it’s not out of the question that he may retain a starting role.

In that case, Witherspoon will likely start games at nickelback and rotate in when needed on the outside. In situations when a slot corner is needed while Witherspoon is outside, Seattle can go back to Bryant or even turn to safety Julian Love, who has experience working in the slot, as well. He hasn’t been working at the position much lately, though, as the team has opted to keep Love working at safety, in case Jamal Adams‘s return to the field takes longer than anticipated, but Love does have the requisite experience.

So for now, the depth chart appears to have Woolen and Witherspoon as the top outside options with Jackson and Burns behind them, though Jackson has a chance to retain his starting spot by continuing to impress. At the slot, Witherspoon should be the first option, moving out of his outside position, with Bryant and, potentially, Love behind him. The most experienced members of the position room, Burns and Love, are contributing as depth pieces in what is expected to continue being one of the youngest cornerbacks rooms in the league.

Giants Expected S Julian Love To Re-Sign

April 12th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Given their financial commitments at safety coming into free agency, the Seahawks made a surprising move by signing Julian Love to join Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. The Giants appear to have been surprised as well.

Like they did with Saquon Barkley during what became a narrow in-season negotiation — during the bye week — the Giants made Love an offer believed to be worth more than the two-year, $12MM Seahawks pact Love signed. The Giants then submitted a second offer earlier this year, according to the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz, who notes this proposal was worth more than what the team offered midseason.

[RELATED: Barkley Not Planning To Show For Team Workouts]

When Love chose the Seahawks offer, Schwartz adds the Giants were somewhat surprised. They gave Bobby McCain a one-year deal worth $1.3MM, but the team may still be on the lookout for a safety starter to replace Love alongside Xavier McKinney.

“I think I’m a player on the rise and I’m young, so a lot of things were going for me, I felt. Then the market was tough for safeties, that’s just the reality,” Love said recently. “I wouldn’t have expected it, but it was what it was. When Seattle saw where I was at contract-wise, they jumped at the opportunity to bring me on, which is exciting and it makes you feel like you’re wanted in this process. There were a few teams down at the end, but I think the appeal of Seattle was too great for me to pass on.”

No numbers have emerged regarding the Giants’ midseason or offseason Love offers, but this year’s non-Jessie Bates safety market not producing any deals worth at least $8MM per year did not bode too well for Love, even after a strong contract year. The new Giants regime used the same timetable with Love and Saquon Barkley, making an initial fall offer before upping it slightly ahead of free agency. But Barkley ended up being franchise-tagged — the expected outcome in the event a Daniel Jones extension surfaced — and Love hit the market. When free agency opened, the sides were not close on terms; that led to the Seattle visit.

McKinney has missed chunks of two seasons — 2020 and ’22 — but looks to remain in New York’s long-term plans. The former second-round pick could rebound and command a nice raise with a quality contract year, and Schwartz notes the Giants were not going to have Love making more than McKinney on a long-term deal. McKinney is now extension-eligible, but it would make sense for the Alabama alum — considering the ATV accident that cost him seven games last season — to bet on himself raising his value in 2023.

As for Love, he now sits 28th for safety AAV. Vonn Bell, Jordan Poyer, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Donovan Wilson and Juan Thornhill checked in a bit higher on their offseason deals, but Bell’s three-year, $22.5MM Panthers pact was the closest any safety came to Bates’ four-year, $64MM Falcons windfall. Gardner-Johnson signed a one-year deal after turning down a multiyear Eagles offer, joining Love in perhaps overestimating this year’s safety market. Love is expected to play a regular role, regardless of Adams’ health, in Seattle; the Seahawks are planning to use Adams closer to the line of scrimmage more often in 2023.

The Giants have McCain, Dane Belton and Jason Pinnock under contract alongside McKinney. Love took over after the Giants cut Logan Ryan and let Jabrill Peppers walk in 2022. The team has higher priorities entering the draft, and while safety can be considered an auxiliary need, the Giants may rely on McCain or one of their younger holdovers to team with McKinney.

Seahawks Withdraw Ryan Neal’s RFA Tender

March 31st, 2023 at 10:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

Before they signed Julian Love, the Seahawks extended a restricted free agent tender to Ryan Neal. With Love now forming a trio with safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, the Seahawks are moving on from Neal.

Seattle rescinded Neal’s RFA tender Friday afternoon, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). This will make Neal an unrestricted free agent. The four-year Seahawk is coming off a season in which he started a career-high 10 games.

Neal will almost certainly generate immediate interest on the open market. Pro Football Focus graded his 2022 work quite well, slotting the 6-foot-3 cover man as the No. 4 overall safety last season. Neal, 27, made 66 tackles (four for loss), deflected eight passes an intercepted another during a season in which the Seahawks played 16 games without Adams. PFF graded Neal as the No. 3 overall safety in coverage last season, which represented by far his most favorable marks from the advanced metrics site.

The Seahawks gave Neal the low-end tender, which cost them $2.63MM. The team will pick up that cap space but part with Neal, who could be a candidate to land elsewhere as a starter. The transaction will bump Seattle’s cap space past $8MM. A Southern Illinois alum, Neal started 19 games with the Seahawks from 2020-22. With the new money, the Seahawks should be expected to look into more D-line additions, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets.

During the parties’ in-season negotiations, the Giants offered Love more money than he ultimately received from the Seahawks, per The Athletic’s Dan Duggan (subscription required). But the breakout starter passed and ended up with Seattle on a two-year, $12MM deal. Love agreed to terms with the Seahawks three days after they tendered Neal as an RFA.

With Love in the fold, Henderson notes the Seahawks are planning to use Adams more at the line of scrimmage. The former Jets All-Pro will work as a pseudo-linebacker more often, per Henderson, opening the door for Adams, Diggs and Love to see the field together. Box work has generally been best for the aggressive defender, who makes his living in that capacity rather than as a pure coverage player. Adams set a safety record with 9.5 sacks in 2020 but did not register any in 2021.

Even with this tender off the books, the Seahawks are set to allocate an NFL-leading $41MM at the safety position. They will count on Adams, who has missed extensive time due to injuries over the past two seasons, staying healthy to justify the cost. It will be interesting to see where Neal lands.

Seahawks To Sign S Julian Love

March 17th, 2023 at 12:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the Seahawks’ three visitors Thursday will end up signing. Hours after Devin Bush committed to Seattle, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports Julian Love will do the same (Twitter link).

Love will sign a two-year, $12MM deal with the Seahawks, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This represents an intriguing addition, as the former Giants safety is only going into his age-25 season and will now do so for a team rostering Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. While Love wanted to stay with the Giants, he will add to what was already the NFL’s most expensive safety group.

Adams suffered a torn quad tendon in Week 1 of last season, but the former All-Pro is still tied to the league’s third-most lucrative safety contract. Diggs is also in the top 10 at the position, having re-signed with Seattle last year. Love joining the duo represents a staggering commitment to the position. Before Love’s addition, Seattle had $39.7MM committed to its safety position. No other team has more than $31MM, in 2023 cap dollars, tied to that spot.

Three-safety looks would appear to be in the offing for the Seahawks, unless the team is making unexpected plans to jettison one of its well-compensated incumbents, and Love is coming off his best season. The Notre Dame product played 1,006 snaps for a depleted Giants secondary last year, and DC Don Martindale used him all over the formation. Love’s versatility figures to help the Seahawks keep their three safeties on the field together often.

The Giants negotiated with Love prior to the legal tampering period and were in talks with the young defender after that point, but it did not sound like the sides were too close on terms. That said, the $6MM-AAV point would seemingly not have been too much higher than what the Giants were prepared to spend. But Big Blue has an Xavier McKinney extension to consider. That stood to affect their Love offer, and the former fourth-round pick heading to the Pacific Northwest marks the third Giants safety starter to move on over the past two offseasons. The team let Jabrill Peppers walk last year and cut Logan Ryan. That opened the door for an impact Love contract year.

Pro Football Focus slotted Love 44th overall among safeties, which is middle-of-the-pack placement among regulars at the position. But Love, PFR’s No. 39 free agent, commanded a midlevel market after his solid Giants contract season. Love finished with 124 tackles — nearly double his 2021 total — and intercepted two passes. Love also forced a fumble and deflected five more. It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks deploy their new DB, presuming Adams recovers in time for Week 1.

Seahawks To Host LB Devin Bush, S Julian Love, DB Lonnie Johnson

March 16th, 2023 at 8:41am CST by Sam Robinson

On Day 2 of the 2023 league year, the visit stage of free agency appears upon us. The Seahawks will act accordingly, being set to host two defenders coming off their respective rookie contracts.

Linebacker Devin Bush and safety Julian Love will head to Seattle for summits with Seahawks brass Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Seahawks have been busy along their defensive front but have thus far waited out the markets at linebacker and in the secondary.

Love’s inclusion here is interesting, both given the Seahawks’ personnel at the position and the Giants’ in retaining their young safety starter. Although the Giants began negotiations with Love before free agency began, the New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard notes (via Twitter) the sides are not close on terms.

Love is just 24 (25 this weekend) despite having been in the NFL four seasons, and after Jabrill Peppers and Logan Ryan relocated last year, the former Giants fourth-round pick played a vital role for Don Martindale’s defense. He logged 1,006 snaps during a season in which Xavier McKinney and Adoree’ Jackson missed extended stretches, helping Big Blue secure its first playoff berth in six years. Love made 124 tackles and intercepted two passes last season.

The Seahawks are already the most well-invested team at the safety position, having Jamal Adams still on a top-market contract and having re-signed Quandre Diggs last year. Even after the Falcons added Jessie Bates for $16MM on average, Diggs’ $13MM-per-year contract still ranks within the top 10 at the position. The Seahawks are coming off a season in which Adams played one game, but Love might prove too pricey for a role alongside this duo.

Following a productive rookie season, Bush could not become a Steelers anchor at linebacker. The team, which traded up for Bush in the 2019 first round, reduced his playing time last season. Bush logged a career-low 62% defensive snap rate with Pittsburgh in 2022, after the team passed on his fifth-year option.

Pro Football Focus slotted Bush just outside the top 50 at linebacker last season; that did mark a bump after the advanced metrics site rated him as one of the worst players at the position in 2021. The Michigan product did play 17 games, making a sufficient recovery from the ACL tear that sidetracked his career back in 2020, but he did not check in as one of this crowded off-ball linebacker market’s top options heading into free agency.

Seattle has Jordyn Brooks signed through 2023, with a fifth-year option decision looming, but lost 2022 starter Cody Barton to the Commanders. The team has been connected to a possible Bobby Wagner reunion; GM John Schneider intends to monitor the Seahawks legend’s market. Bush would be a much lower-profile addition, but the Seahawks will kick the tires on the younger linebacker today. Bush is going into his age-25 season.

Defensive back Lonnie Johnson will also be part of this visit, Schefter adds (on Twitter). The former Texans second-round pick spent 2022 with two teams — the Chiefs and Titans — following a trade and waiver claim. The Texans bailed on Johnson, whom they tried at cornerback and safety, by trading him to the Chiefs. Kansas City waived Johnson in August. He ended up playing in 12 games as a Tennessee backup last season. The fifth-year defender has 19 career starts on his resume.

Giants Rumors: Lawrence, Edwards, WRs, Love

March 12th, 2023 at 6:03pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants have been eyeing an extension for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence for a while now and, following a breakout season, the team has made it a priority. New York started preliminary conversations with Lawrence about two weeks ago, but Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS claims he wouldn’t be surprised to see a new deal done “sooner than later.”

Despite the ever-growing markets for every position, the league’s market for defensive tackles has never been near the contract of generational talent Aaron Donald. It appears that this will continue to be the case as we see the defensive tackle market reestablished this offseason. Washington has already made Daron Payne the new second-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL behind Donald with a four-year, $90MM contract. Payne’s average annual value of $22.5MM is still well short of Donald’s $31.67MM per year.

It will be interesting to see where the Giants go from Payne’s deal. Payne established himself as a premier pass-rushing defensive tackle in the league this season but struggled in run defense. Lawrence didn’t have the pass rush production that Payne did but still excelled in the area while also being strong against the run.

Lawrence graded out as the second-best defensive tackle in the league this year, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). It would make perfect sense for the Giants to reward Lawrence with a contract that surpasses that of Payne’s new deal, but will Lawrence be able to come anywhere close to the heights reached by Donald?

Here are a few more rumors surrounding the Giants’ priorities at the start of the new league year:

  • Starting the offseason with 21 unrestricted free agents, New York had a laundry list of names and positions to take care of. One of those positions that has been getting some chatter is inside linebacker. Specifically, the Giants have continuously been connected to Eagles pending free agent linebacker T.J. Edwards, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The four-year Philadelphia defender has had two increasingly impressive breakout seasons, recording career-highs last year in total tackles (159), tackles for loss (10), sacks (2.0), quarterback hits (5), and passes defensed (7). Aside from Edwards, the top name expected to be available at the position is Tremaine Edmunds from Buffalo. Other names of interest for the G-Men include the Commanders’ Cole Holcomb, the Bengals’ Germaine Pratt, the Cowboys’ Leighton Vander Esch, the Lions’ Alex Anzalone, and the Chargers’ Drue Tranquill.
  • The wide receivers position has been an obvious need on the Giants’ roster for some time now, but it doesn’t appear that the Giants intend to address that through free agency, according to Pat Leonard of New York Daily News. With their focuses in free agency and the draft reportedly on inside linebackers, defensive linemen, cornerbacks, and interior offensive linemen, thoughts are that the trade market may make more sense for New York. If the Bills aren’t able to reach an extension agreement with Gabriel Davis, the Giants could be strong contenders to acquire his talents. The Rams have granted receiver Allen Robinson permission to seek a trade. Cardinals star receiver DeAndre Hopkins appears to be available for a price, as well. There are other names that could be interesting additions to the trade market such as Cincinnati wideout Tyler Boyd or Denver’s Jerry Jeudy. The team might still make free agency moves for veterans like Cole Beasley or Odell Beckham Jr., but the trade market could be a more attractive way to bring in established talent to New York.
  • There is reportedly optimism that the Giants will be able to come to an agreement to re-sign pending free agent safety Julian Love. After two seasons of relatively down play, Love had a bounce-back, breakout season in a contract year. He led the team in tackles by a mile with 124 total and tacked on two interceptions for good measure. Love may not be expected to make top money at the position, but after playing out his rookie contract, it appears Love is on the right track to remaining in New York long-term.
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