The NY Giants made the someone quizzical decision Monday, signing veteran running back Devontae Booker on the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period, ahead of NFL free agency officially opening.
Booker will likely pair with Saquon Barkley as depth in the backfield and as an insurance policy for how Barkley returns from a torn ACL that ended his season in Week 2 of the 2020 campaign. However, for an organization with limited resources, it is fair to wonder if a backup running back is the best use of $6 million over two seasons.
Here is a breakdown of the good, and the bad of the NY Giants signing of Devontae Booker, as well as a grade for the move:
The good:
Booker has special teams experience, and that is something that the NY Giants have prioritized in recent seasons, and never more than last season upon Joe Judge’s arrival as head coach.
As a complement and insurance policy to Barkley, Booker should fit nicely into the NY Giants’ backfield. According to Pro Football Focus, Booker had eight explosive runs — of more than 10 yards — and averaged 2.69 yards after contact, while forcing 10 missed tackles.
Similarly, Booker is a competent pass-catcher out of the backfield, catching 17 of his 21 targets last season for 84 yards. Through the first five seasons of his career, Booker caught 122 passes for 956 yards and a touchdown, while averaging 7.8 yards per reception.
The bad:
Very little about this signing makes sense for the NY Giants from a financial standpoint.
Booker is coming off a season with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he signed a one-year “prove-it” deal for $888,000 in 2020, and went from that paltry commitment from the Raiders to signing during the first day of the legal tampering period with the NY Giants in 2021.
It is completely reasonable for the NY Giants to have concerns about Saquon Barkley’s injury history. General manager Dave Gettleman admitted as much during his pre-free agency press conference last week. However, this is a significant commitment, averaging up to $3 million per season, in a backup running back.
For comparison, the Jacksonville Jaguars had no intention of paying a running back more than $2 million per season, and signed Micah Hyde to a deal that is worth $2 million base with incentives to push the value higher, league sources tell GMenHQ … To be their starting running back.
Grading the Giants’ signing of Booker
Signing Booker for the kind of money the NY Giants did (up to $6 million over two seasons) feels like the kind of luxury move that a team on the cusp of contending would make, in an era where the NFL has never valued running backs less.
If Barkley is healthy, which admittedly has become a going concern for this organization, he is the bell-cow and focal point of the offense.
However, the NY Giants’ proved to a degree last season that the running game can be productive using a committee approach with options such as Alfred Morris, Wayne Gallman, and Dion Lewis.
Signing Booker almost assuredly means the end of Gallman’s tenure with the organization, despite winning over the coaching staff over the second half of last season, while rushing for a career-high 682 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games.
Given that the NY Giants entered this week cap-strapped, with just over $3 million in cap space prior to Monday, this now puts significant onus on agreeing to a long-term contract with Leonard Williams to lower his cap number currently on the franchise tag, and finalizing a restructure to lower Nate Solder’s cap hit.
If those moves don’t come to fruition, it is going to be mighty difficult for the NY Giants to be significant players in free agency the rest of the offseason.
GRADE: D+
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.