New York Giants football: 5 Potential moves to fix the offense in 2020
By Matt Clark
2. Move Nate Solder to right tackle
Nate Solder is one of the top three highest-paid tackles in the NFL, however he ranks towards the absolute bottom of the league at his position, being ranked 28th out of 32 starting left tackles by Pro Football Focus. In addition, Solder has already given up a league leading 10 sacks on the year. The New York Giants are not getting anywhere near the production that they expected when general manager Dave Gettleman made him the highest paid tackle in football prior to the 2018 season.
Due to his massive contract, the Giants are unlikely to simply cut Solder, as it would count as $13 million in dead cap space. Therefore, they are going to have to figure something out with the veteran tackle. Trading him is also unlikely, as his abysmal performance is unlikely to warrant interest from other teams around the league. In addition, paying someone roughly $20 million per year the next two years to be a backup is not an ideal situation either.
As a result, the Giants need to seek a new left tackle, ideally through the draft, allowing them to shift Solder over to the right tackle position. This should limit some of the matchups Solder faces against elite pass rushing opponents and at the very least, helps to protect the blindside of Daniel Jones.
There are not any real viable options for the Giants to consider with Solder, so moving him to right tackle is the best option in what has quickly become a bad situation. Perhaps doing so will allow Solder to revert back to some form of the player he was prior to joining the Giants.