In the wake of the latest DeAndre Baker legal news, many NY Giants fans are campaigning for the team sign veteran cornerback Logan Ryan.
NY Giants nation had a rough Friday night as a bombshell report came out uncovering damming and likely crippling legal information and evidence regarding DeAndre Baker’s legal case..
Naturally, NY Giants fans want a quick fix and are many are pointing to signing Logan Ryan to be that quick fix.
On the surface, it seems like a fine enough idea, mainly due to his long-time connection with head coach Joe Judge. But, for a myriad of reasons, the move really makes no sense for Big Blue to make at this time.
First off, Logan Ryan is a slot cornerback and we already have two of those in Julian Love (who has potential on the outside, too) and rookie Darnay Holmes, so he’s not a personnel fit right off the bat.
Secondly, and most importantly, we are a rebuilding team that’s top priority should be having players that will be here for the long term and initially on rookie contracts, which we have plenty of.
In fact, the NY Giants have five cornerbacks that are under the age of 25 on the active roster (although DeAndre Baker will likely be gone soon),, and the sixth and top corner, James Bradberry, is only 26.
Logan Ryan is 29 and coming off making $10M per year over three mostly productive (except for last year) seasons.
The main reason he remains unsigned is that he thinks he’s worth far more than he is. Last season, Ryan was amongst the league leaders in yards allowed and completion percentage against him (781 yards allowed, 66% completion allowed).
Even still, those two things aren’t the biggest reason the team shouldn’t look his way. Even without DeAndre Baker, Dave Gettleman has assembled a young group of cornerbacks that the NY Giants aren’t sure if they can actually play yet, so blocking them from getting snaps from a middling and expensive veteran in a rebuilding year is simply crazy.
While the problems with him not fitting in with our personnel and his desired salary are enough to not give him a look, this team is not one that is a true contender in this league just yet.
Specifically, Sam Beal is entering his third year in the league and we still don’t know if he can play; that’s much more important than bringing in an expensive veteran that signals us chasing another mediocre season when we should be evaluating future talent.
Logan Ryan will be signed at some point during this offseason as he’s only 29 and has shown he can play in this league, but it better be somewhere far away from the NY Giants.
Dave Gettleman needs to resist the urge to chase another middling season and let the rebuild play out in earnest, the right way it’s supposed to.
That’s going to involve giving all the young cornerbacks we have a chance to see if they can play.