3 reasons for and against NY Giants firing Dave Gettleman

All Offseason Moves Before 2020

As good as some of Gettleman’s decisions were this offseason, it doesn’t make up for some of the big misses in the past.

Just some of the names that Gettleman either signed or traded for who are no longer on the team: Antoine Bethea, Jonathan Stewart, Alec Ogletree. And while Golden Tate and Nate Solder are on the team, those are questionable moves, too.

Bethea received a two year, $6.5 million contract with the team. He was 35 when he played for the Giants and received that deal in 2019. And while he led the pathetic 2019 Giants defense in tackles, the team did not exercise his contract option for the 2020 season. He is currently a free agent.

Stewart, who Gettleman had known from his time in Carolina, received a two year, $6.8 million dollar contract from the Giants, $3.45 million of which was guaranteed. In what was the stand-out year for Saquon Barkley, who would go on to win offensive rookie of the year, Stewart only suited up for three games for the Giants. He had six rushes for 17 yards. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since.

Gettleman traded away two draft picks for Alec Ogletree from the LA Rams. In his two years with the Giants, he never played more than 13 games in a season. He led the Giants with five interceptions in 2018, was second on the team in tackles that season with 93, and third on the team in tackles in 2019 with 80.

Since then, Ogletree was signed onto the Jets’ practice squad. He’s played in two games and racked up three tackles.

Those players show Gettleman misses as much as he hits on older talent. But what can end up hurting him is the signings of Golden Tate and Nate Solder.

Solder understandably opted out of the 2020 season. And he was right to, since Will Hernandez on the offensive line ended up testing positive.

Questions only arise from what Solder has shown on the field. Pro Football Focus gave his first year with the Giants an overall ranking of 64.9. He racked up five penalties and allowed 11 sacks. That isn’t the kind of play Gettleman had in mind when he made Solder the highest paid left tackle that year, signing him to a four year, $62 million contract. $34.8 million of that contract is guaranteed.

Golden Tate was brought in the same year. In Beckham’s absence, the Giants needed a playmaker for both their old and new quarterbacks. In comes Tate, who signed a four year, $37.5 million contract, with $23 million guaranteed.

Tate was second on the team in reception yards with 676 in 2019. But this year he’s proving to fill the Beckham drama role with on and off field issues. Judge benched Tate before the Giants second win in Washington. But he did come back for the Eagles game with 2 receptions for 44 yards. He’s currently fourth on the team with 270 reception yards, hardly making him the playmaker Gettleman hoped he could be.