Even after the DeAndre Baker arrest scandal, the NY Giants seemed to be standing pat at the CB position; that may now have changed with Sam Beal opting out.
Man, just three months ago the NY Giants cornerback position group was shaping up to have the potential of a young and very talented corps.
Now, after DeAndre Baker being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list and Sam Beal opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, the group is lacking a proven starter to play opposite James Bradberry.
I preached caution after Baker was officially placed on the commish list, and even after we were “graced” with an extra $13M or so to spend in 2020 should the team so choose after Nate Solder opted out as well.
But now, the cornerback unit is so depleted that the NY Giants don’t seem to have many other options than to bring in a veteran body. Just imagine a scenario where James Bradberry went down with an injury (not too far-fetched); this unit would likely turn into a disaster with no other corners on the roster that have played more than two years in the NFL and all of them being drafted in the mid-rounds.
The portion of the NY Giants fanbase that seems to want to go for it all in 2020 (didn’t we learn anything from 2018) are only beating their drums louder to go out and make a big splash with the “newly-found” (we’re still going to have to pay every guaranteed dollar on the contract starting next year) money the team added to its 2020 payroll with the Solder opt-out.
Luckily for Dave Gettleman and the NY Giants, there are actually several veteran cornerbacks that have proven themselves in this league to at least be average and probably won’t be seeking more than a veteran’s minimum type contract to play in 2020 this late in the offseason.
I’ve been vehemently against adding players that are past their primes and usually over the age of 30, but the team may have to make some exception here due to unforeseen circumstances and give out a one-year prove-it deal on an older player.
It’s not the ideal situation for a rebuilding team and the Giants brass should still be keeping their eyes on the prize – which is the 2021 seasons and on – but it looks like they may not have any other choice at this point
With that said, I’ve compiled a list of five cornerbacks that are currently available on the free-agent market and ranked them 1-5 in terms of who I’d like to see brought in the most at the top of the list.
1. CB Dre Kirkpatrick (spent 2019 with the Bengals)
I know this goes against the entire strategy I pontificated the NY Giants should deploy this offseason — signing young players to team-friendly deals to help further the rebuild – but in this specific instance, I’m perfectly fine bringing in a 30-year-old player coming off an injury-riddled season.
As long as Dre Kirkpatrick is willing to come to play for Big Blue on a one-year prove-it deal (he made a fortune in Cincinnati) I’ve got no problem with Dave Gettleman picking up the phone and going after him.
At this point, so late in free agency, you’d have to think its something Kirkpatrick would at least consider.
Standing 6’2” he’d give the NY Giants a solid veteran option at the boundary cornerback position across from James Bradberry, while the other young pups battle it out for the nickel and dime roles.
I’m not very worried about Dre Kirkpatrick’s current injury situation as it seems he was shut down because the team was so far out of it, as the corner only suffered a hyper-extended knee all the way back in Week 6.
He should be healthy and ready to rock for Big Blue by Week 1 if they do end up signing him and the veteran corner is only a year removed from having a 2018 season that included allowing just 50% of passes thrown his way to be completed for a QB rating of just 82.6.
Hypothetical NY Giants offer: 1 year/$3.7 GTD (up to $5M with PT incentives)
2. CB Ross Cockrell
If Dre Kirkpatrick is option #1 for me in this NY Giants free-agent signing scenario, Ross Cockrell is more of a #1B option on this list.
Cockrell, 29, has bounced around the league a bit to the tune of playing for four different franchises over the span of his six-year career, but oddly enough, his season with the NY Giants in 2017 might have been his most successful campaign as a pro.
The veteran played in all 16 games (starting 9) for Big Blue and racked up 50 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 11 passes defended. Cockrell earned an impressive 74.1 coverage grade and a 71.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus for his 2017 efforts.
That play was enough to get Cockrell a two-year deal worth $6.6M with the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately, the former Duke Blue Devil suffered two serious injuries during training camp causing him to miss all of his debut 2018 season.
Cockwell went on to bounce back strong in 2019 with the Panthers, allowing a QB rating of just 68.6 and a completion percentage of just 55%. On the season as a whole, Cockrell actually picked off more passes (2) than he allowed touchdowns (1).
Again, at this stage in free agency, what could Ross Cockrell possibly be expecting? I could see Dave Gettleman swooping in here and nabbing Cockrell at a below-market rate.
Hypothetical NY Giants offer: 1 year/$3M (full guaranteed)
3. CB Trumaine Johnson
Alright, before we begin here, take a deep breath and realize that the fact that the Jets struck out so hard on Trumaine Johnson does not mean he isn’t a viable option for the NY Giants in 2020, specifically in this particular situation.
Injuries slowed Johnson down dramatically during his time with the NY Jets as he played just 16 of a possible 32 games over this first two years out of his monster 5-year/$72M free-agent contract.
New management was having none of it and elected to move on from Johnson this offseason, incurring a ton of dead cap over the next two years in the process.
The Jets already owe Johnson a $4M signing bonus in 2020 and an $8M signing bonus in 2021; in other words, he’s already being well compensated by another team for the next two seasons, upping the NY Giants’ chances of landing him on the cheap.
If he can return to even the 2018 NY Jets form of Trumaine Johnson, locking up the veteran could be a real steal. In his debut season with Gang Green, Johnson balled out by allowing a QB rating against him of 68.9 over 11 games.
In addition, he picked off four passes while allowing only two touchdown passes all season.
Johnson also stands tall at 6’2” while weighing in at 213 pounds, adding some much need size to the NY Giants cornerback unit and another boundary option.
Hypothetical NY Giants offer: 2 years/$10M ($5M GTD in 2020)
4. CB Morris Claiborne
A throne in the side of Dallas Cowboys fans for years, Morris Claiborne failed to live up to the hype that comes with being selected sixth-overall, especially as a cornerback in Dallas.
Like many of the other players on his list, injuries played a big part in Claiborne’s rocky tenure with the Cowboys as he played in just 47 out of a possible 80 games during his five-year stint with the team.
Jerry Jones had a tough decision to make on Claiborne after his contract was set to expire, and the fact that he actually began playing well again – albeit over just 7games -the executive simply had to swallow his pride and admit the mistake on Claiborne in this situation with all the other big-name Cowboys stars due for extensions.
Since his departure fro JerryWorld, Claiborne’s injury concerns seem to have magically disappeared after he played back-to-back 15 game seasons with the Jets on two one-year, team-friendly contracts.
Still, his market was cold when he hit free agency in 2019 and he ended up taking less money (around $2M) to try to go get a Super Bowl ring which is exactly what he did with Kansas City — even if he was a scratch on gameday.
Entering the crossroads of his once-promising career, the former LSU star’s best – and likely only move – is to sign a prove-it deal like I’ve suggested for every other player on this lit so far.
Claiborne would also be like the other members of this list and help the NY Giants in the specific area they need; outside, boundary cornerbacks.
Unlike the other members of this list though, Claiborne played front and center under head coach and new Giants offensive coordinator during his entire Cowboys career, giving Big Blue some inside intel.
Hypothetical NY Giants offer: 1year/$2.5M (fully guaranteed)
5. CB Logan Ryan
Finally, at the end of the list, we buck the trend of going after an affordable veteran that hasn’t quite lived up to expectation or has been dealing with injuries in favor of a proven veteran that is far and away the biggest prize left on the free-agent cornerback market.
Logan Ryan has consistently been brought up as a potential replacement since the DeAndre Baker incident occurred, and even now for the life of me, I just can’t see how bringing in Logan Ryan at the rate he’s looking for is the right move for a rebuilding team.
Ryan is coming off a three-year/$30M dollar deal with the Titans and is reportedly looking for even more than that. If the NY Giants were a player or two from being serious contenders, or even if Nate Solder’s money vanished by him opting out until having it roll over to next season – I would be much more willing to make this move.
The money factor isn’t even considering the fact that Ryan’s strength is playing in the slot and the NY Giants need a corner that can play on the outside down-in and down-out at the moment. Ryan did play some boundary corner with the Pats but has spent the majority of the last three years in Tennessee manning the slot to mixed results.
Ryan has been a monster in the turnover department, collecting four interceptions and four forced fumbles while even chipping in four sacks in 2019 alone.
However, he was lit up in the passing game as he allowed 66% of passes thrown his way to be completed for a league-high 781 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The year before, he allowed a 102 QB rating while allowing 8.0 yards-per-target ( a high number for a slot guy) on a 67% completion rate.
So while Logan Ryan’s reputation in New England may have gotten him a monster deal with the Titans, the NY Giants cant make the same mistake here — especially when you consider the redundant personnel.
Hypothetical NY Giants offer: 2-years/$14M ($9M GTD)
Conclusion:
If you (somehow) didn’t pick up on the trend here, I’m strongly advocating for the Big Blue brass to only dip their toes in the free-agent cornerback market if they can get a high-upside veteran who’s willing to play for the NY Giants on a team-friendly, short-term deal while we figure out the long-term plan for the position as a whole.
While I’ve been a strong advocate of the NY Giants only bringing aboard young players during this rebuild in 2020, no one could have foreseen what’s transpired in the cornerback room this offseason to take place.
As a result, Dave Gettleman might just be forced to go out and acquire a semi-big name veteran (for a reasonable price) as James Bradberry is currently the oldest NY Giants corner at 26, and god forbid he were to get injured, this unit would fall off a cliff.
Before the Sam Beal news, I still thought Gettleman should hold and see what his young corners have to offer in 2020.
But now, as long as he doesn’t dip too much into that newly-found ” Nate Solder cap savings” money he has to seriously consider bringing in some outside help.