5 Available bargain free agents that could help the NY Giants in 2020
3. CB Dre Kirkpatrick
I know what you’re thinking; this is an overreaction to the impending DeAndre Baker fiasco. However, in my opinion, it’s not. Even before Baker weakened the NY Giants’ cornerback group, the team still had room for a vet cornerback to help teach the younger players while still being able to play at a high level as an outside cornerback.
Right now, the Big Blue cornerback group is littered with slot guys and unproven outside corners, so bringing in the 30-year-old Kirkpatrick would be a shrewd move whether or not DeAndre Baker plays for the NY Giants in 2020.
Up until last season, where he tore his ACL early on in the season, Kirkpatrick put together a streak of playing at least 13 games – mostly at a high level – over a six-year span. He played so well that the Bengals rewarded him with a 5/$52M contract in 2017.
Unfortunately for the former Alabama star, he became a victim of a new regime looking to rebuild and shed salary and he now finds himself still on the market deep into the free agency period. Just 30-years-old, he should have plenty of good football left in front of him and would be a solid insurance policy for the #2 cornerback job should Baker not return or Julian Love doesn’t work out at the position.
Now, we don’t know what his demands are, and that could be a big reason he has remained unsigned, But as we inch closer to the regular season, you can expect those demands to go down and it would be wise of Dave Gettleman do get involved and see if he can get something done.
It has been said many times – you can never have enough good cornerbacks on your roster, especially in this day and age, and especially with the NY Giants’ weak pass-rushing group.