New York Giants Absolutely Must Sign Evan Mathis
The New York Giants have no choice, they must sign Evan Mathis. Evan Mathis is one of the best offensive guards in the game but a contract dispute with the Philadelphia Eagles essentially got him fired. Chip Kelly, the Eagles coach who always has walked the line in-between crazy and genius, gave the Giants a golden opportunity to improve by releasing Mathis. The Giants absolutely must sign the available guard to solve their offensive line woes.
When Will Beatty went down with a pectoral injury while working out, it wasn’t the end of the world. The Giants figured to start their rookie tackle, Ereck Flowers on Eli Manning’s blind side. The line would survive until Beatty returned. It wasn’t an optimal situation but it was all the Giants could really do.
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The Giants could have signed Jake Long or Gabe Carimi, but neither player would have been a definite upgrade. Long has had season ending injuries for four seasons in a row; who knows if he could even be the same player he once was.
Gabe Carimi was supposed to be something special for the Chicago Bears but he never really panned out. The moral of the story is that the Giants had options but there wasn’t a great option available.
Now the Giants have a great option in front of them. There is no excuse to not bring in Evan Mathis. This is a player who is still near the upper echelon of NFL offensive lineman. The talk of the offseason has been about how the Giants are committed to fixing the offensive line.
January 22, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Team Carter guard Evan Mathis of the Philadelphia Eagles (69) during the 2015 Pro Bowl practice at Luke Air Force Base. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Jerry Reese showed you that commitment when he selected Flowers with the ninth overall pick. Now he has to show that commitment again. Not signing Mathis would be an epic failure for the Giants front office.
The offensive line can be improved dramatically. A team need can be filled. This is a moment where the Giants brass has to step up.
The Giants have more talent on the offensive side of the football than almost any other team. Eli Manning is a great franchise quarterback, and a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Odell Beckham Jr. is quickly becoming one of the most exciting players anyone has ever seen.
Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and Larry Donnell are all very solid players for Manning to throw the football too. The Giants are oozing with talent.
This is talent that the team cannot waste. I cannot stress enough how important the acquisition of Mathis could be. The Giants starting offensive line would go from highly questionable to highly intriguing the second the ink dried from Mathis’s contract.
Geoff Schwartz and Evan Mathis would be one of the best guard combinations in recent history. Schwartz and Mathis would be like Batman and Robin. It just sounds like the perfect duo. Imagine if Weston Richburg or Brett Jones step up and play great at the center position, and the Giants sign Mathis…the line would be incredible.
Every second the Giants leave Mathis on the open market boggles my mind. For all the talk about improving the run game and protecting Manning, the Giants would look foolish not to sign a player that can help them do that. I have to believe that the Giants can make this work out, it just makes too much sense not to make the move.
The Giants need to act quickly and sign Evan Mathis.