After a rough two first seasons with the NY Giants, Nate Solder’s status is very much in the air heading into the 2020 season.
From the beginning, the NY Giants’ signing of offensive tackle Nate Solder has been an unmitigated disaster. GM Dave Gettleman let several offensive lineman walk from an already weak group and made a panic move to hand out the largest offensive lineman contract in history to the former New England Patriot.
At the time, most NY Giants fans were on board because Solder had solid pedigree coming from the Patriots – even though he never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team – and they were just desperate for some quality offensive line play.
I don’t think most Giants fans were on board with the terms of the contract, but with how bad Eli Manning had been getting roughed up due to Ereck Flowers it seemed reasonable to some.
That quality play has not yet come from Solder, who is lucky to even still be here for the third year of his four year contract. Of course, Dave Gettleman helped him out in that regard when he questionably restructured Solder’s contract in 2019 after a mediocre 2018 season.
That all but guaranteed Solder’s presence on the 2020 NY Giants, as Solder carries a $19.5M dead cap hit against a $13M cash salary. Even still, it might have been wise to just cut ties with the aging tackle and take that $6.5M and invest it elsewhere in the team.
With all that said, we’re here now, and Solder’s last chance of being moved on from came and went, as he could have been designated as a June 1st cut to shave the dead cap savings in half over two seasons.
So, what do the NY Giants do now? Gettleman heavily invested in the offensive line – particularly at offensive tackle – in the 2020 draft, taking two tackles in the first three rounds. The GM also went out and signed veteran Cam Fleming for supposed depth purposes.
In other words, the cupboard is finally not bare when it comes to potential talent at offensive tackle for the NY Giants in 2020.
Joe Judge’s biggest mantra since taking over as head coach has been that the best players will play, regardless of circumstances. If that’s the case, Nate Solder is going to – and should have to – have a very difficult time earning a starting spot based on his play.
In my mind, the one thing that cannot happen is Nate Solder opening as the starter at left tackle. After investing the #4 overall pick on the stud that is Andrew Thomas, the team needs to insert him there from day one to let him learn while the team is rebuilding as that is where he will be playing for the rest of his career.
That brings us to right tackle. In your honest opinion, do you really believe that Nate Solder is better than Cam Fleming at this point and time? I don’t.
At best, it could be a wash, but in his time as a spot starter, Fleming has never looked nearly as bad as Solder has during his time with Big Blue.
In 2019, Solder allowed the second-most sacks and the most pressures in the entire NFL and was a major reason why Daniel Jones fumbled the ball so much; he also was a total liability in the run game which contributed to some of Saquon Barkley’s struggles as well.
I’m not saying Flemming is going to be a world-beater, but I’m confident he would do better than that.
Obviously, I don’t think anyone believes third-round pick, Matt Peart, is ready to step in on day one and start at right tackle. However, there’s another young lineman on the team, Nick Gates, that may be on the outside looking in from a starter’s perspective, and I’m very confident he’d do a much better job than Solder at right tackle — again, it’d be almost impossible to do worse.
It is certainly worth mentioning that Solder has been dealing with a terrible personal issue involving his child having cancer, so there is a chance that since the situation is improving that Solder’s play will improve with his mind being more clear.
We all hope that’s the case, and I truly wish the best for Solder and his family.
However, from what I’ve seen over the last two years, and the fact that he’s two years older now, I don’t believe Solder should be guaranteed – or even be the favorite- to start at either tackle position.
Joe Judge will likely stick to his code and have an open, honest competition, and if there’s no interference from Gettleman or consideration of how much money he’s making there is a solid chance he’ll lose that competition.
Lastly, the NY Giants are in rebuilding mode right now. It doesn’t make much sense to trot out a 32-year-old tackle that has played the way Solder has on this team at this juncture. Now, if one of the other guys earns the job and starts getting Daniel Jones killed (like Solder has), that’s another story.
But for now, Solder should have to put together an amazing offseason – and be on a short leash should he earn a job – to be considered for a starting position in my opinion.