NY Giants free agency grades: Cameron Flemming edition

The NY Giants signed an offensive lineman that new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is very familiar with. Here is our grade on the Cameron Fleming free agency signing.

Few players’ NFL careers have been more consistent than new NY Giants offensive tackle Cameron Flemming. A true swing tackle, Flemming has been used in that role almost exclusively during his six-year NFL career with the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys.

During those six seasons, Flemming has played between 200-500 snaps (18%-42%) each year, while starting somewhere between 2 and 7 games. For what it’s worth, the former Stanford offensive lineman probably would have started a lot more games had he not been on two teams that have had two of the best offensive line groups during that time period.

Flemming has also allowed somewhere between 0 and 3 sacks every year in his career except one, and he only allowed four during his worst statistical season.

New Giants offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, and offensive line coach, Marc Colombo, obviously liked what they saw from Flemming during his two years in Dallas, as the pair obviously played a big part in bringing Flemming to New York. Able to play either left or right tackle adequately, Flemming’s value is immense as offensive lineman injuries tend to derail offenses more than anything else, while that versatility allows him to be the top backup at two spots.

However, Flemming likely chose the NY Giants because he believes – and maybe was told – that he could be a start with Big Blue. The former fourth-round draft pick will turn 28 right when the 2020 season starts and he must be wanting more at this stage of his career.

The NY Giants are almost sure to address the offensive tackle position in either rounds one or two of this year’s draft, but at the moment, Flemming probably has the lead on the team’s right tackle position. He’ll have some competition from youngster Nick Gates, who has impressed in limited action, but since new head coach Joe Judge has said the best player will play regardless of circumstances, there’s a legit chance that he could actually play over the struggling Nate Solder.

The price Dave Gettleman paid to bring in a stabilizing force to an unstable offensive line was more than a fair one. Flemming signed on with Big Blue for just $4M on a one-year contract during the first wave of free agency. When offensive lineman start getting injured throughout the season, it often derails teams as there are never any attractive options on the street.

With all of this said, Flemming’s true role is obviously still up in the air. But, for such a minimal investment, this signing had to be made.

There’s a real chance that Flemming could ascend himself to the productive starter level with a steadier role with a team, and there’s a real chance he gets that in 2020 with the NY Giants.

GMENHQ official grade: B+